Chotto Desh, meaning ‘small homeland’, draws on Akram Khan’s unique quality of cross-cultural storytelling. Creating a compelling tale of a boy’s dreams and memories from Britain to Bangladesh and back again, it celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the modern world. Blending Kathak and contemporary dance with an exquisite mix of spoken text, dreamlike animation, visuals and specially composed music, Chotto Desh is an enchanting and poignant dance theatre experience.
An absolute triumph. A mixture of choreography, spoken text and animation, cleverly re-shaped by director Sue Buckmaster to capture the attention and imagination of young audiences.
A heart-warming story of our connections to the past, to family and, most importantly, the need to find your own path... will captivate an audience of any age.
Akram Khan Company
Established 23 years ago, Akram Khan Company is now undisputedly one of the foremost innovative dance companies in the world. Their programmes range from kathak and modern solos to-artist collaborations and ensemble productions. The company has a major international presence and enjoys busy tours that reach out to many cultures and peoples across the globe. Akram Khan has been the recipient of numerous international dance awards, the most notable being an Olivier Award for his solo production DESH in 2012.
Sue Buckmaster
Sue is the Artistic Director of Theatre-Rites and has many years experience as a director and puppetry specialist working with a wide variety of companies including the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and the Young Vic. In 2018, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate for her outstanding contribution to theatre. For Theatre-Rites, Sue has created 29 theatre and site-specific productions whose commissioners include Sadler’s Wells, Manchester International Festival and Salzburg Festival. In 2015, she directed Chotto Desh and in 2020, she collaborated with the Company again to direct Chotto Xenos, an adaptation of Akram Khan’s award-winning XENOS, for family audiences.
DESH Artistic Direction and Original Choreography | Akram Khan
Chotto Desh Direction and Adaptation | Sue Buckmaster (Theatre-Rites)
Music Composition | Jocelyn Pook
Lighting Design | Guy Hoare
Stories imagined by | Karthika Naïr and Akram Khan
The grandmother’s fable in Chotto Desh is taken from the book The Honey Hunter
Written by | Karthika Naïr, Sue Buckmaster and Akram Khan
Assistant Choreographer | Jose Agudo
Rehearsal Directors | Dennis Alamanos, Amy Butler, Nico Monaco
Grandmother’s voice | Leesa Gazi
Jui’s voice | Sreya Andrisha Gazi
Dancers | Jasper Narvaez, Nico Ricchini
Original Visual Design | Tim Yip
Original Visual Animation created by | YeastCulture
Original Costume Supervisor | Kimie Nakano
Music Engineer | Steve Parr
Painted Head Sequence devised by | Damien Jalet with Akram Khan
‘Bleeding Soles’ lyrics written by | Leesa Gazi
Singers | Melanie Pappenheim, Sohini Alam, Jocelyn Pook (voice/viola/piano), Tanja Tzarovska, Jeremy Schonfield
We gratefully acknowledge the artists who contributed to the original production of DESH by Akram Khan Company.
Coproduced by the MAC, Belfast
Originally co-commissioned by MOKO Dance, Akram Khan Company, Sadler’s Wells London, DanceEast, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, Mercat de les Flors Barcelona, Biennale de la danse de Lyon 2016 and Stratford Circus Arts Centre.
Venue | Town Hall Theatre
View venue details, accessibility and transport options here.