Description
Conceived and directed by Seke Chimutengwende.
It Begins in Darkness is a dance full of ghosts.
In this stark, stripped back performance, five dancers move through a series of mysterious and experimental rites of passage, channelling past, present and future tensions through their bodies and voices. As if to exorcise the haunted house of history, the dancers whisper, jump, wrestle, shiver, wail and laugh, filling the space with horrors, both real and imagined.
It Begins in Darkness is an environment for processing the fear, anger and confusion which arise from the histories of slavery and colonialism that haunt the present.
Seke has been researching the connections between horror, haunting and the histories of slavery and colonialism since 2019. The research has included the writing of a long piece of text, a rehearsal period on Zoom, and a residency at a stately home, alongside work in the studio. This is Seke’s first independently created group piece since 2015, following recent works Black Holes, an Afrofuturist duet with Alexandrina Hemsley, Plastic Soul, part rock show, part dance solo, and Detective Work, a duet with Stephanie McMann about mystery and figuring things out. He has also recently made a new work with Candoco Dance Company.
Content Warning
Contains themes of horror and colonial violence, loud noises, and screaming.
Access Information
An access booklet designed by SoundScribe is available for this performance. This booklet offers an elaborated experience of the show and its making, including exclusive interviews and expanded commentaries on the soundscape. This booklet is available in print and in audio and has been put together by SoundScribe, a global-majority collective offering audio description and access consultancy.
The content of this booklet combines audio description and captioning in the hope of offering an innovative access point into this performance work for both blind + partially sighted patrons and d/Deaf + hearing impaired patrons. As this work tours, not every performance will be audio-described live but we encourage you to listen to our audio-described extracts in the audio booklet.
Let yourself be immersed in the show’s soundscape: moments of stillness accompanied by silence, pattering feet, hunched sniggers, spine-tingling, screams and shuddering convulsions of possession.
You can also listen to the audio description YouTube playlist here.
Creative Team
Conceived and directed by Seke Chimutengwende
Choreography & text Seke Chimutengwende and the dancers
Dancers Isaac Ouro-Gnao, Adrienne Ming, Mayowa Ogunnaike, Sharol Mackenzie, Natifah White
Created with input from Alethia Antonia
Previous cast Rhys Dennis, Rose Sall Sao & Kassichana Okene-Jameson
Dramaturg Charlie Ashwell
Lighting Designer Marty Langthorne
Costume Annie Pender
Composer Aisha Orazbayeva
Double-bass on Soundscore Hugo Abraham
Production Manager Michael Picknett
Vocal Coach Randolph Matthews
Research consultant for R&D phase Sita Balani
Producer 2023 & 2024 Lucia Fortune-Ely, Metal and Water
Producer 2022 & 2023 Tour Planning Eve Veglio-Hüner