Wed, 25 Mar 2026: 3 pm
Synopsis
★★★★
“Energetic storytelling. Here is a bona fide great piece of dance, with resonances that go deep beneath its surface moves.”
– The Stage
★★★★
“Using a mixture of styles and storytelling, Khan demystifies the art of dance. Vibrant and vivid.”
– The List
“A beguiling mix of dance and mime.”
– The New York Times
“A real delight. It mixes reality and mythology to explore rebellion, identity and homeland.”
– The Guardian
The acclaimed Akram Khan Company returns to Singapore with its much-loved, family-friendly production Chotto Desh. Adapted in 2015 by Theatre-Rites director Sue Buckmaster from Akram Khan’s Olivier Award-winning and critically acclaimed solo DESH, this heart-warming work tells the story of a young man searching for his place in the world.
Chotto Desh, meaning “small homeland”, draws on Khan’s unique quality of cross-cultural storytelling, creating a compelling tale of a boy’s dreams and memories from Britain to Bangladesh that 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 for the young and young-at-heart to enjoy together.
Production Credits
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
Dancer: Nico Ricchini
Original Visual Design: Tim Yip
Original Visual Animation created by: YeastCulture
Original Costume Supervisor: Kimie Nakano
Music Engineer: Steve Parr
Tour Managers: Mashitah Omar, Svitlana Bil
Stage Manager: Jessica Rice
Lighting Technician: Gerald Mcdermott
Sound & Video: Dan Harmer, Mark William Webber, Matt Armstrong
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.
Co-produced by the MAC, Belfast in 2023.
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.
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Schools (All Mainstream Primary and Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges and Centralised Institute)
For every 20 student tickets purchased per performance, one complimentary teacher ticket will be issued.
The complimentary offer is only available for purchases made in a single transaction for the same show title.
Please contact us at education@esplanade.com if your school is not listed or if your students are not within the recommended age group.
Homeschools and International Schools
To make a booking, please contact Esplanade Box Office at 68288389 or email boxoffice@esplanade.com.
For enquiries, email education@esplanade.com.
Tote Board Arts Grant
All Primary, Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges / Centralised Institute & ITEs may use the Tote Board Arts Grant to subsidise up to 50% of the programme cost.
All SPED Schools may use the Tote Board Arts Grant to subsidise up to 70% of the programme cost.
For more details, please contact Esplanade Box Office at 6828 8389 or email boxoffice@esplanade.com.
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When a show is cancelled, ticket buyers will be duly notified by the event organiser primarily via email. You may also be notified through the event organiser's authorised ticketing agent, media or any other applicable communication channels. Information will be provided on where and when you can get your refund. For postponed performances for which the date of the new performance is known, refunds are optional.
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