Festival Dance
XENOS
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Millie Stirrat
five stars
 
AN enduring image captured in my mind comes from the beginning of XENOS where we watch Akram Khan under a soft warm orange glow, rhythmically dancing to the beat of the konnak drum and the sonorous vocals of Aditya Prakash. With a sense of utter freedom and belonging, he emphasises that this is who he is and where his roots lie.
 
The Indian soldier is then stripped of his identity as World War One and its shell shocking gun shots take away the light and literally drag away all that makes him feel human. Engulfed by darkness and frustration, he becomes trapped in the treacherous trenches among the “voices in the mud, half already dead”.
 
During some moments of this hard hitting performance his identity makes a fleeting come back, giving the audience not only a sense of hope but a refreshing change from the drone of minor chords. Despite this, it is interrupted by erratic and piercing noises causing the light to flicker and his rhythm to deplete, exposing us to the exhaustion that has riddled him physically and mentally from being an instrument of war.
 
To fully appreciate the energy and emotions that Akram Khan portrays, reading the programme beforehand is recommended. However XENOS is completely remarkable and I have to congratulate Khan on how he exposes such darkness through such a beautiful performance. This is his final solo show. It is definitely not to be missed.

Millie Stirrat is a pupil at Portobello High School in Edinburgh and this review was submitted as part of The Herald Young Critics Project with the Edinburgh International Festival, as were those below

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Jacob Blue Kenrick

four stars

XENOS is a story of a young colonial solder told through the medium of dance and music. There are a few words and the bulk of information given is through Akram Khan’s deliberate moves and the music’s many changes.

The opening of XENOS is sudden and painful, the joyful music is instantly replaced by a terrifying metallic sound that plays as the soldier is flung to the floor, being forced into a war against his will. He does a moving but short lived dance before the stage goes black, lit only by a small light held in the soldier’s hand.

He then delivers one of the few lines in the show “Do not think this is war, this is the ending of the world.” A powerful statement showing the dying of his solo career and the horrors of war.

The music in the whole of XENOS is terrific and I do mean that in both ways. It was powerful and moving, and provided meaning to many of the more obscure scenes. Such as when the soldiers world was being dragged away from him. It helped show true desperation and made it truly seem as though all he had was being taken into an unforgiving abyss. The music is always interesting, either subtle and surprising or roaring and powerful. But always magnificent.

The last stand of Akram Khan was magnificent and largely due to the amazing set design and music XENOS will no doubt be talked about for years to come.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Grace Baird

five stars

Impeccable choreography, a visually stunning set and powerful themes of war and identity; some of the many reasons XENOS is utterly unmissable. Akram Khan shines, performing solo, leading us through the life of a colonial Indian soldier ripped from his homeland to fight a foreigner’s war through a series of developing dance styles and routines. Prodigious as Khan’s performance undoubtably is, the true power of XENOS lies in its reflection of horrors that have haunted mankind, xenophobia and the wars that will destroy us.

The pain caused by war is stripped back and exposed by Khan’s performance on stage. This is enhanced by an intense musical score and lighting display which mimics life in the trenches. The development of dance styles within XENOS reflects the loss of identity of colonial Indian people, specifically soldiers sent away to fight. In the initial scenes Khan performs traditional Indian Kathak dancing, a raw expression of Indian culture which flawlessly develops into contemporary style representing loss of identity.

An extract from a Sepoy’s letter is read to develop themes of violence; “This is not war. It is the ending of the world”. Khan interprets this in his finale performing a dramatic, desperate piece in a pit, perhaps referencing the fiery depths of hell. The myth of Prometheus also heavily influenced the questions at the core of XENOS in regards to the capability of mankind to create both euphoric joy and crippling fear.

XENOS is a masterpiece in motion.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Carolann Mcculloch

three stars

Akram Khan’s performance in XENOS was captivating and completely mesmerised the audience within seconds of coming on stage.  The idea of XENOS was surrounding one man telling his story through a mixture of contemporary and traditional Indian dance, Kathak.

The audience really enjoyed how the talented musicians helped Khan tell his story by hauntingly soundtracking the different scenes. The show revolves around the unheard voices of World War One soldiers which the music really helped to convey by getting louder and more intense or calming down when it got more serious.

As the performance begins it is just two musicians and Kahn on stage where it’s set up with rope and furniture laid out to look like a room with red lighting to help create a haunting yet beautiful scene. As the show progressed the furniture was literally pulled from stage with the performer pulling at it, possibly symbolising him becoming homeless. Some main themes were death, rebirth, identity and reflection. These themes really showed throughout especially with the music and lighting carrying this one scene where he ‘dies’ and reincarnates along.

XENOS was a very interesting cultural experience for me. As it was Kahn’s last solo performance you could see how he literally threw himself into it with every shred of passion he had. Overall, some may find the show confusing unless they understood the context of war.  Akram Khan made the experience so enticing you couldn’t take your eyes off the stage.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Ciara Meechan

four stars

XENOS was an interesting experience. The show was created by Akram Khan who is an incredible dancer that managed to seamlessly combine the styles of contemporary and traditional Indian dance in a show that depicts the experience of a man thrust into a conflict he should’ve had no part of.

The set was masterfully put together by Mirella Weingarten was used throughout the show to convey the places that the character found himself in, from his peaceful home to the horrifying landscape of war. It was a large sloping stage that was used to anchor the meaning of Khan’s dancing in every scene, from reflection to rebirth to death, which the slope helped clarify.

The lighting by Michael Hull and used to intensify the scenes using tonal reds as spilled blood, and darkness to show the horror felt by the character. The sound was also impeccably done by Vincenzo Lamagna who managed to create a soundtrack that was not only poignant but also quite harsh and grating when reflecting the nature of war.

Some may find XENOS quite confusing in parts as the show was open to interpretation. Everything had to be shown through the medium of dance. It may be helpful to know something about the brutal history it depicts but if you don’t it’s still worth watching. What makes the show so noteworthy is its abstractness and the feelings of joy and sadness experienced by the audience due to Khan’s emotional dancing.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Kirsty Allan

Four stars

Akram Khan’s XENOS is a beautifully depicted cultural experience. A blend of traditional Indian music and Kathak dance infused with contemporary movements explore various themes of war and isolation in a striking way. As you step into the theatre two musicians are performing the music causing you to be instantly catapulted into the show – much like Akram is, signifying the show has officially started.

The costumes create a cultural feel of the show, bells wrapped around his ankles to reflect his status – the more bells you have the more experienced you are – transformed into bullet holsters mark his entry into war with puppet-like movements to show how he’s being controlled.

The lighting is used to intensify the scenes, with warm tones to represent home and belonging switching to cold blues which form a feel of isolation and war, then finally to a deep red to portray a mixed sense of blood and anger reflect Khan’s emotions in a captivating way.

It’s easy to get lost in the abstract nature of the dance and sudden sounds however his movements are so enticing you can’t take your eyes off of him. Struggle and alienation are strongly evident as his belongings are ripped away with ropes, you have to watch helplessly as he tries to wrestle against them and when he desperately tries to find contact through the gramophone.

The show is open to interpretation. The experience was unforgettable with the use of intense emotion, an effective way to finalise Khan’s solo career.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Megan McIntyre

four stars

Akram Khan’s solo dance performance, XENOS, is like nothing I’ve seen before. The way Khan was able to contorts his body with twists and turns mimicked what stress and confusion feels like inside our heads. Paired with sinister music and repetitive whispers it felt like you were in the mind of a person controlled by fear. Khan really achieved to convey the unease and struggle of Indian soldiers during WW1.

The use of loud grumbling noises combined with low flickering lights created a sense of unrest. When the stage was in complete darkness, a high pitched wailing accompanied by a low drone was intensely loud and was uncomfortable to listen to. Silence also meant these loud moments resonated more. The unexpected sounds and changes resembled the unpredictability of the trenches.

The props used looked simple but were well used, making ropes look like wires, chains and puppet strings. It was a clever combination of using background music and visuals to show the ropes as wires. At some points the ropes looked like they weighed him down and at others it looked like they controlled and trapped him. The ropes conveyed the overpowering control that war has on soldiers.

Overall, XENOS was mesmerising. However unusual it may have been I was unable to take my eyes off it. The audience could clearly see what Khan was trying to convey and his last full solo performance tour was certainly different and something that I will never forget.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Rhona Johnson

five stars

Akram Khan’s XENOS portrays the destruction of war and self image through classical Kathak dance and contemporary dance. Khan displays an intense performance of the First World War, it tells the story that many haven’t heard, that’s why I believe it’s an experience.

I have never been a history lover and only know briefly about the war, in schools we are taught the facts not the emotions. I truly believe anyone who wants to feel new emotions and see the war in a different light should go and see XENOS as soon as possible.

XENOS captivated the auditorium with the intense darkness and music. It touches on the themes of death, war, rebirth and struggles with identity. Even though his work is a reflection of WW1 it can reflect the current conflict in humanity. The reflection of World War One is brought through by the song “Hanging On The Old Barbed Wire” a song dedicated to the fallen men that is played while Akram Khan supposedly gives up hope.

As an audience member you can feel the emotion coming off Khan’s body as he dances around the  marvellous sloped stage. The sloped stage gives the dynamic of trenches, the rubble and soil he incorporated gives an effect of the world crumbling around him. The falling pinecones represents the fallen men that have died fighting for their country, I believe it’s the most touching part to an amazing performance, by an excellent, dedicated dancer.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Coll Simpson

four stars

Akram Khan really pulls out all the stops with his latest and greatest production XENOS, allowing him to finish his solo career on a definitive high.

As the audience fills the auditorium, they are met with a pre show which consists of two men sitting on the stage performing traditional Indian music and wearing traditional Indian clothing.  

However on the odd occasion the lights would flicker and there would be static noise, creating an eerie sense of what’s to come.

I found myself about a third of the way into the performance on the edge of seat 22 in row G, relatively clenched and unable to blink even when there was nothing to look at, just intimate darkness with nothing but amazingly dramatic music creating an almost palpable atmosphere.

Prior to this however was an awe inspiring show of amazing stage work, with the props on the stage coming to life and migrating up the stage thanks to amazing stage production.

Throughout XENOS you can’t ignore the obvious influence Indian culture has on it working in harmony with the powerful theme of World War 1, from the traditional music of India to the war cries and classic war chants such as “Hanging on the old barbed wire” from WW1.

As XENOS progresses, so does the intensity of Akram Khan’s dancing, from traditional dancing to throwing himself down the marvellous sloped stage as if he were a lifeless body being thrown from an explosion.

In short, XENOS deserves the capital letters.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Erin Stevenson

four stars

The unforgettable story of Akram Khan’s last solo performance, XENOS, embodies the disarray of the world as it is thrust into WW1 and captures the deprived life of a soldier.

XENOS is the story of an Indian dancer, who becomes a foreigner to his own self after being forced to fight in the British Army. Accompanied by haunting music, Khan’s combination of Kathak and contemporary dance creates an indescribable struggle of a broken man. The bare but symbolic set by Mirella Weingarten represents the stark reality of war, and acts as the bare background for an unknown soldier.

The performance begins with mesmerising Kathak dancing, with a warm and happy glow of orange light that dances across the set of his home. Slowly, we watch Khan crumble into distress as his life is dragged away from him up into the darkness, the light fading. The atmospheric tension remains with you until the very end. I have never seen such a performance like XENOS, but the overwhelming sadness I felt watching Khan, intertwined with rope whilst the old war song ‘Hanging from the Old Barbed Wire’ played is a traumatising truth of the horror of war.

XENOS is a perfect blend of fear and enlightenment, giving a voice to the discarded soldiers through Khan’s bewitched movements. The performance left the audience in amazement for the sheer passion XENOS had for every aspect of war was unlike any other.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Jamie Blair

five stars

“This is not war. It is the ending of the world.”

- Letter from a wounded Indian sepoy

Before finding your seat you’re greeted by an astonishing percussion, enveloping the viewer, welcoming them into a traditional Indian wedding.

Behind the performers stands a menacing, ominous ramp that stands tall, resembling exaggerated features of a trench. The ramp remains on the stage throughout the performance the entire serving as a constant threat of impending war. Each piece of furniture has rope strapped to it, later being dragged up the ramp and slowly disappearing, the soldier played by Akram Khan resists this new equilibrium by grabbing the ropes, Ultimately failing as the furniture out of sight behind the ramp, this serves as a stark metaphor for war collapsing literally dragging the world as the soldier knows it away from him. The performance is abstract featuring limited dialogue, gifting each viewer their own take on the performance.

The audio equipment achieves its fullest potential, it does an incredible job of highlighting the performances varied and raging soundtrack, from warm inviting traditional Indian music to the hard hostile modern music. The audience at one point feel the vibrations of soundtrack, this involves the audience and paired with the astonishing visuals provides an extraordinarily unique experience.

Each element of the performance is more than strong enough to stand its on, but masterfully combined by a passionate team of professionals creates in the viewer a breathtaking rush of emotions whilst providing a unique and unforgettable narrative.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Eva Donnelly

five stars

XENOS takes us through an emotional and thought provoking journey exploring the horrors of war and the effect war has on man. Using classical Kathak and contemporary dance, Akram Khan expresses what it’s like to be a stranger fighting for someone else’s war.

With a sloped stage and different uses of ropes, dirt and bells, Khan has brought  World War One trenches to life, helping the audience experience the soldier’s struggles. Traditional Indian music fades in and out of XENOS showing a yearning for home which many people can relate to and creating the memories of his past life back in India.

During the first scene, two Indian men play traditional Indian music whilst Khan dances with Indian bells round his feet representing the shackles of war that will always haunt him. After this the stage goes empty and is showered with dirt taking us to the empty void of war, similar to the void of hell creating an eerie melancholiac atmosphere. The lighting also helps enhance this atmosphere, changing colour to represent the psychological pain of the Indian soldier.

Akram Khan paints the colonial soldiers vulnerability and innocence through dance and throughout the piece empathy is gradually built for this lost soldier. XENOS shadows an intriguing message questioning humanity and humanity’s destructive nature, giving us  insight of the mistakes we have made in the past so we do not repeat them in the future. XENOS is a memorable and breath taking performance that I highly recommend going to see.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Michael Pantony

four stars

XENOS started with percussion from a duo which played cultural music from his heritage. Akram then stumbles on screen and starts dancing in his contemporary style.The lighting at the start is light and welcoming with connotations of his home land then throughout the play the lightening increasingly darkens showing how has gone from being happy in his homeland to be thrusted into battle of the Great War.

On stage the props  begin to be dragged up by rope behind the stage like he is being removed from his home land.Through this section the metal on the wooden stage makes a screeching noise which made me think of nails frantically trying to cling on to what was once there. Akram then clings on to  props also highlighting his mournful state.

After this scene the narrative is portrayed through the clay which he scatters on the stage this was  show the rubble of the battle field which I thought was very moving. On top of the stage there was a gramophone.  He tangles the rope around him which portrays the encapsulating experience of the war created. The gramophone then shines a light on the battle field that was shown by the rubble. While playing a song “ I know where you can find your old battalion” which tailed off the performance.

All in all the performance was extremely well produced show.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Hayley Cunningham

five stars

XENOS, is a breathtakingly modern solo dance piece by Akram Khan who communicates the post traumatic stress of Indian soldiers mobilised into WW1. Khan uses the hallucinative spinning of ‘kathak’ -his first dance form- to transport the audience into the soldiers muddled memories of the frontline.

Musicians appear as blank figures above the trenches, igniting your senses with the eerie waves of warfare, numbing you to the outside world. Khan incorporates contemporary ‘western’ dance as he spirals through the trenches in reflection of the soldiers enrolment tearing their own culture- Kathak dance- away. The mix of contemporary and kathak dance emphasises the emblematic theme which Khan questions the value of war by voice intervals, including:

‘Do not think that this is war, it is not war. It is the ending of the world.”

XENOS is a visual masterpiece, with the setting itself telling its own story. For the majority of the performance Khan tackles the sloped stage which embodies the trenches monstrous shape, this quirky layout conveys the isolation and loneliness the Indian soldiers felt as he is often stuck at the bottom of the stage, trying to escape. As Khan unravels the story he unravels his ghungroo bells, transforming them to shackles forming raw, violent movements to carrying the theme of pain and violence surrounding war with him.

With this being Khan’s final solo performance, you would be mad to miss it. His dancing shows the journey of one Indian soldier but tells the story of four million more.

Festival Dance

XENOS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Christy Graham

five stars

XENOS by Akram Khan is breathtakingly emotional and liberating. The performance gives great justice to the Indian soldiers fighting in WW1, under the British Empire. Khan use of Kathak style dance unravels the stories gone unheard, complemented by Indian music that amplifies around the theatre by the extraordinary B.C. Manjunath and vocalist Aditye Prakash.

From the harsh tone lights channelling the ongoing struggle, to the warm tones showing strength and resilience, XENOS was delightful. The performance was Khan stretching his body ear to ear to bring to life the physical and mental struggles of the soldiers. The music was one second up in arms with climatic sounds and war artillery, followed by uncomfortable silences. Khan’s use of chains to show the entrapment of the situation cross cut with his choreography showing his ailing legs unable to climb up the slope.

Khan’s dancing coincides with the voice overplayed from the gramophone, that pessimistically said, ‘This is not war, this is the ending of the world.’ I think the best performances are the ones that leave you questioning and I can undoubtedly say that everyone in the theatre felt that way.

The part which resonated with me, was when Khan rolled across the slope, holding onto the rope which tactically crossed into a Y shape, which resembles nooses, showing the unparalleled sorrow and mental fatigue he faced.

XENOS exceeded my expectations, Akram Khan and the rest of the crew gave me an experience to remember.