Dickson Mbi’s Tellus brings live music and environmental turmoil to London’s stage
Dickson Mbi’s Tellus is playing at Sadler’s Wells East in London until 24 October. The choreographer also composed its score, performed with live musicians behind eight dancers. A community facing fire and drought appeals to the goddess Mami-Wata. Critics Lyndsey Winship and Chris Omaweng highlight the work’s interplay of movement, music and visual design in their reviews.
Arts··Midday
Tellus plays at Sadler’s Wells East
Choreographer Dickson Mbi’s Tellus is playing at the London dance venue Sadler’s Wells East until 24 October. The production draws on Mbi’s Cameroonian heritage and the mythical goddess Mami-Wata. Live musicians accompany its dancing.[1], [2]
Mbi composed the score as well as creating the choreography, having developed his composing skills during the pandemic. Musicians perform behind eight dancers. In her Guardian review, critic Lyndsey Winship describes the music as shaping the movement and working alongside it. LondonTheatre1 critic Chris Omaweng writes that the live musicians give the show an added dimension.[1], [2]
A community faces fire and drought
The story follows a lost central figure and a community affected by fire and drought that appeals to Mami-Wata for help. Winship sees a search for hope amid environmental turmoil. She identifies Mbi’s hip-hop roots alongside movement recalling contemporary, South Asian and classical dance. Her comparison with his earlier Olivier Award-winning Enowate favours Tellus as the more assured work.[1]
Video design accompanies the dancers
Video-design group YeastCulture created the production’s imagery. Simon McBurney of theatre company Complicité mentored Mbi, and poet Nick Drake worked on the scenario. Winship singles out Nathan Goodman’s spins and leaps and Hannah Joseph’s commanding, tottering presence. She finds the production driven more by instinct and physical impact than detailed narrative, noting that audiences may need the programme to follow the story’s outline.[1]
