Dickson Mbi's Tellus at Sadler's Wells East Turns Cameroonian Fairytale Into Climate Fable

Choreographer Dickson Mbi's Tellus, staged at Sadler's Wells East, reimagines a Cameroonian fairytale as a parable about climate change. The work originated as a bedtime story Mbi created for his son before being developed into a full dance piece. Described as beguiling and code-switching, the production moves between languages and registers, drawing on the storytelling traditions of Mbi's heritage while addressing contemporary environmental concerns. The piece places a family narrative at the center of a larger meditation on ecological crisis, converting an intimate domestic tale into a public performance work. Sadler's Wells East, the venue hosting the run, is the east London outpost of the Sadler's Wells dance organization. Tellus marks another instance of contemporary dance artists adapting folklore into work engaged with the climate emergency.