DESH

World Premiere: 15 September 2011, Curve Theatre, Leicester
London Premiere: 4 October 2011, Sadler's Wells Theatre, London

DESH is a full-length contemporary solo and the most personal work of Akram’s. DESH meaning ‘homeland’ in Bengali, draws multiple tales of land, nation, resistance and convergence into the body and voice of one man trying to find his balance in an unstable world.

Moving between Britain and Bangladesh, Akram weaves threads of memory, experience and myth into a surreal world of surprising connection. At once intimate and epic, DESH explores fragility in the face of natural forces, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the rhythms of labour, in dream and story,  and in transformation and survival.

For this production, Khan teamed up with Oscar-winning visual artist Tim Yip (Production Designer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), fellow Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist lighting designer Michael Hulls, writer and poet Karthika Nair and Olivier award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook.

‘Those transparent Dacca gauzes
known as woven air, running
water, evening dew.’ (Agha Shahid Ali)

DESH

Trailer

00:00
/
00:00

Direction, Choreography and Performance Akram Khan

Visual Design Tim Yip
Music Composition Jocelyn Pook
Lighting Design Michael Hulls

Stories imagined by Karthika Nair and Akram Khan
Written by Karthika Nair, PolarBear and Akram Khan
Dramaturge Ruth Little
Creative Acting Director Zoë Nathenson
Eshita’s Voice Sreya Andrisha Gazi
Jui’s Voice Eesha Desai

Visual Animation created by Yeast Culture
Sound Design Nicolas Faure
Costume Supervisor Kimie Nakano

See more

Exploration

"Poignant, thrilling, magical, moving and utterly transfixing"

- Mark Monahan

Press

DESH | The Telegraph | review

"A one-man show about a country in which you are never alone sounds like a paradox, but Khan peoples his stage with a host of alter egos."

- Luke Jennings

Press

DESH | The Observer | review

Join our mailing list

Behind the scenes

You are about to leave the Akram Khan Company website to experience the creation of XENOS on our microsite.
For the best experience, we recommend that you visit the microsite on a desktop with your sound on and view it in full screen.
Continue to XENOS experience

Before you go, why not sign up to our mailing list..

Back to top