Aakash Odedra And Aditi Mangaldas' MEHEK To Have London Premiere At Sadler's Wells This April

A major new collaboration from two of the finest South Asian performers of their generations - Aakash Odedra and Aditi Mangaldas - has its London premiere at Sadler's Wells on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 April. Mehek is a duet which tells the story of a taboo relationship between an older woman and a younger man.

A physical exploration of the human heart, its desires, courage and resilience, authenticity is at the heart of Mehek. The company worked with over 450 elders from communities across Leicester on Mehek Live, an associated learning and participation project. Some of their personal stories and memories of life and love, told to Aakash Odedra, dramaturg Karthika Naïr and musician Hiren Chate, have fed into the final piece.

The title Mehek alludes to the essence of love and the enduring power of memory. The stage becomes a place where rhythmic tales of desire unfold, entwined with elements of nature. A set of mirrors by Tina Tzoka evokes the expansive waters of the sea, the tranquil surface and the tumultuous waves beneath.

Composer Nicki Wells, a frequent collaborator of both Odedra and Mangaldas, has created the sound-score, sometimes epic, sometimes intimate. She sings live on stage with two Indian percussionists, Ashish Gangani and Hiren Chate and vocalist Faraz Ahmed. Ahmed has contributed to the composition of the classical music in the soundtrack.

Friday 12 April at Sadler's Wells also sees the culmination of wider Mehek Live project, run in partnership with Moving Together, as part of the Elixir Festival. There will be showings and screenings of two dance works created by some of the Mehek Live participants. Karthika Nair has been commissioned to write three new poems and Nicki Wells and musician Hiren Chate have composed the scores.

Speakers at a symposium to share the outcomes of Mehek Live include Lewis Major from Aakash Odedra Company and Emily Jackson from Moving Together; Karthika Naïr, Mehek dramaturg who was involved in story-gathering for the show; Natasha Anderson, Head of Community Engagement and Elaine Foley Project Manager of the Company of Elders; Lucinda Jarrett, Artistic Director of Rosetta Life; Mary Prestidge, Andrea Buckley and Paula Hampson from Liverpool Improvisation Collective and Charlotte Cunningham, Artistic Director of Turtle Key Arts, with more speakers to be announced. The symposium will be live-streamed and recorded for later sharing.

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