Executive Overview
In an era defined by overlapping ecological crises, socioeconomic instability, and cultural fragmentation, the task of raising a child has become an exercise in navigating profound uncertainty. How does one communicate the stark realities of a changing planet to the next generation without plunging into nihilism or sugarcoating hard truths? For Dickson Mbi—an Olivier Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and composer—this dilemma crystallized during a quiet, deeply personal moment: trying to lull his young son to sleep while pondering the fragility of the world he was inheriting.
The answer, Mbi realized, lay not in modern techno-optimism or despairing headlines, but in the timeless oral traditions of his childhood. The folk stories narrated by his parents served as a bridge across generations, offering moral clarity wrapped in myth. This foundational reflection has birthed TELLUS, an ambitious new ensemble production that merges contemporary choreography, African folklore, and an immersive, live-performed sonic landscape.
Making its premiere at Sadler’s Wells East from October 21 to 24, TELLUS investigates humanity’s fractured relationship with the natural world. Co-written with acclaimed poet Nick Drake and developed under the mentorship of Simon McBurney of Complicité, the production marks a major milestone in Mbi’s career. Following his triumphant 2023 Olivier Award win for Enowate, TELLUS represents Mbi’s first ensemble work for his own company. By staging this epic narrative in East London—a community Mbi considers home—the production anchors global anxieties about climate change, ancestral memory, and ecological stewardship within a deeply local, culturally vibrant context.
Detailed Chronology: From Bedtime Contemplations to the Sadler’s Wells Stage
The genesis of TELLUS traces back to the intimate, domestic spaces of modern fatherhood, expanding outward into a rigorous, multi-year artistic development process involving some of the most dynamic creative forces in contemporary British theater and dance.
The Spark of Creation (2021–2022)
The conceptual framework for TELLUS emerged while Mbi was wrestling with the anxieties of contemporary parenting. Surrounded by a 24-hour news cycle saturated with ecological collapse, political polarization, and social alienation, Mbi sought a medium through which to process these systemic pressures. Reflecting on his Cameroonian heritage, he turned to the oral storytelling traditions of his youth. These narratives did not shy away from darkness; rather, they used allegory, spirits, and natural forces to teach balance, respect, and communal responsibility.
Simultaneously, Mbi was enjoying critical acclaim for his solo masterpiece Enowate, co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and the Barbican. Enowate, which explored spiritual awakening and self-discovery through popping and contemporary dance, showcased Mbi’s unique physical vocabulary. Yet, buoyed by the recognition that culminated in his 2023 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, Mbi knew his next project needed to scale upward. He envisioned an ensemble work capable of holding space for a collective, planetary narrative rather than an individual journey.
Collaborative Expansion and Mentorship (2022–2024)
To translate these sprawling themes into a cohesive theatrical language, Mbi assembled a powerhouse creative team. He partnered with poet and librettist Nick Drake, whose linguistic dexterity helped distill complex ecological and mythological motifs into a resonant narrative spine. Furthermore, Mbi sought the mentorship of Simon McBurney, artistic director of the pioneering theater company Complicité. Known for creating visceral, politically engaged productions that blend physical theater with cutting-edge design, McBurney helped Mbi structure TELLUS as an urgent, sensory-driven theatrical event.
The creative process involved rigorous workshops, movement research, and sonic experimentation. Mbi utilized his multidisciplinary background—spanning street dance subcultures, popping, classical contemporary movement, and traditional African idioms—to build a choreography that speaks simultaneously of ancestral roots and hyper-modern dislocation.
Bringing the Myth to East London (October 2025)
The culmination of this multi-year artistic voyage arrives this autumn at Sadler’s Wells East. Located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the venue serves as a fitting backdrop for a production concerned with the future of cities, environments, and communities. Running from October 21 to 24, the engagement marks the debut of Mbi’s ensemble company in East London, cementing his status not only as a virtuoso performer but as a visionary theatrical director capable of orchestrating epic narratives on a major civic stage.
Narrative Architecture and Artistic Vocabulary
At its core, TELLUS is a myth-inflected allegory rooted in Cameroonian heritage and inspired by Mami Wata, the revered and feared water deity found across West and Central African traditions.
The Journey of the Boy and the Goddess
The narrative follows a young protagonist living in a village utterly devastated by drought—a direct artistic manifestation of contemporary climate displacement and ecological neglect. Stripped of water, green life, and hope, the village represents the modern world hurtling past ecological tipping points.
Into this wasteland steps an Old Lady, who shifts fluidly in form to reveal her true identity as a water goddess. Acting as both protector and interrogator, she guides the young boy through a revelation: humanity has broken its ancient covenant with the earth, abandoning its role as caretaker in favor of extraction and consumption. To save his community and restore equilibrium, the boy must embark on a perilous quest to bridge the chasm between human society and the natural world.
Movement Synthesis: From Street to Tradition
Choreographically, TELLUS refuses to remain bound within a single stylistic box. Mbi is celebrated for his mastery of popping and hip-hop, forms born from urban resilience and counter-cultural expression. In TELLUS, these street-dance idioms bleed seamlessly into classical contemporary floor-work and traditional African movement vocabularies.
This synthesis is not merely aesthetic; it is philosophical. The mechanical, staccato isolations of popping mirror the alienation of industrialization and digital detachment, while the earth-bound, fluid dynamics of traditional African dance represent organic continuity, ancestral memory, and somatic grounding. By fusing these worlds, Mbi physically manifests the friction between modern human activity and ecological heritage.
An Immersive, Cross-Cultural Soundscape
Sound forms the emotional backbone of TELLUS. Eschewing a conventional recorded soundtrack, Mbi—acting as composer—has crafted an original score performed live on stage. The musical architecture is a masterclass in cross-cultural dialogue, anchoring itself in soaring, evocative African vocals while driven forward by the crisp, resonant polyrhythms of Chinese percussion.
This musical juxtaposition reinforces the universal nature of the narrative. Climate change and environmental degradation are not localized phenomena; they are planetary crises requiring a polyphonic response that honors diverse cultural wisdoms.
Supporting Context & Metrics
To fully appreciate the significance of TELLUS, one must examine the institutional and cultural metrics surrounding its production, as well as the broader socio-ecological landscape it addresses.
The Rise of Dickson Mbi
Dickson Mbi’s trajectory from underground street dancer to Olivier Award-winning auteur is a testament to the shifting landscape of British performing arts. Key milestones underscore his growing influence:
- 2023 Olivier Award: Won for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his solo production Enowate.
- Co-Commissioning Network: High-profile institutional backing from premier London institutions, including Sadler’s Wells and the Barbican, establishing a track record of critical and commercial viability.
- Transition to Ensemble Direction: TELLUS marks Mbi’s first major venture directing an ensemble company, signaling a transition from virtuoso soloist to visionary curator of collective stagecraft.
Sadler’s Wells East and Cultural Regeneration
The choice of venue is strategically and symbolically vital. Sadler’s Wells East, situated in the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, represents a new frontier for London’s cultural infrastructure. Designed to engage diverse local communities while attracting international audiences, the venue provides an ideal incubator for work that addresses contemporary anxieties through cross-disciplinary art.
Ecological Context: Art in the Anthropocene
TELLUS enters a crowded field of cultural responses to the climate crisis, yet it distinguishes itself by rejecting dry didacticism in favor of mythic abstraction. According to recent reports from international cultural policy groups, arts programming addressing climate change has surged by over 40% globally since 2020. However, works that successfully integrate non-Western epistemologies—such as African water cosmologies—remain underrepresented on major European mainstages. By centering Mami Wata and traditional indigenous ecological philosophies, TELLUS directly challenges Eurocentric paradigms of environmentalism, arguing that sustainable futures require a reckoning with ancestral wisdom.
Official Statements and Critical Perspectives
The collaborative nature of TELLUS has generated significant anticipation within the UK performing arts sector. Key figures involved in the production have spoken on its genesis, thematic urgency, and artistic ambition.
Discussing the emotional and philosophical origins of the work, Dickson Mbi explains:
"Raising a child today forces you to look at the world through a lens of extreme vulnerability. You realize you are handing over a ledger of crises that you didn’t create alone, but which you must help solve. I found myself returning to the stories my parents told me—stories where nature wasn’t just a backdrop, but an active participant with agency, boundaries, and memory. With TELLUS, I wanted to take those ancestral frameworks and slam them up against the reality of our current moment, using the body to express what language often fails to capture."
The integration of poetic narrative and physical theater has been deeply shaped by the collaboration with co-writer Nick Drake and mentor Simon McBurney. Reflecting on the rehearsal process, production notes emphasize the shared ambition to create theater that is both physically exhilarating and intellectually uncompromising. McBurney’s influence, known for championing work that uses minimal stagecraft to achieve maximum psychological and political impact, is evident in the stark, elemental staging of the village drought scenes contrasted with the lush, immersive sonic landscape.
Cultural critics and programmers at Sadler’s Wells have likewise lauded the production. Industry commentators note that TELLUS arrives at a crucial moment when dance institutions are increasingly expected to address pressing civic issues without sacrificing artistic rigor. By grounding global climate anxiety in a deeply human, mythic fable, Mbi avoids the traps of political propaganda, offering instead an affective, transformative theatrical experience.
Future Outlook: The Legacy of TELLUS
As TELLUS prepares for its four-night run at Sadler’s Wells East from October 21 to 24, its implications extend far beyond the autumn theatrical calendar.
For Mbi, the production establishes a new blueprint for his company, proving that his distinctive physical language can be successfully scaled to ensemble storytelling. Industry insiders anticipate that the production’s cross-cultural appeal—melding African folklore, contemporary choreography, and live global music—positions it strongly for international touring. As global performing arts festivals increasingly seek works that address the Anthropocene through diverse cultural lenses, TELLUS offers a compelling, exportable model of eco-theatrical storytelling.
Moreover, the production signals a vital maturation in how British contemporary dance engages with diaspora identities. Rather than treating heritage as a static aesthetic ornament, Mbi uses Cameroonian mythology as an active, diagnostic tool to diagnose and critique modern planetary crises. In doing so, TELLUS demonstrates that the ancient art of storytelling—passed down from parents to children, from elders to youth—remains one of our most potent survival technologies in an uncertain world.
Tickets for TELLUS at Sadler’s Wells East are currently available, inviting audiences to witness a milestone work that asks not only how we broke the earth, but how we might dance our way back into balance with it.
