Company Wayne McGregor, Autobiography/UniVerse: A Dark Cyrstal Odyssey, Sadler's Wells

The choreographer Wayne McGregor brings his own Company Wayne McGregor to Sadler's Wells with two landmark, but very different, works that will run consecutively over a week.

First comes his Autobiography (v95 and v96) – 12 and 13 March at 19:30 Dur.: 1 hour 20 mins no interval

Created in 2017, this is a characteristic deep dive into science, and McGregor's attempt to translate it, or more precisely the genome, into movement, thereby creating a meditation on the choreographer's life and memories. A restless creator, though, McGregor keeps re-polishing his work: the original Autobiography (1.0) has now evolved into Autobiography (v95 and v96).

You can find Culture Whisper's ★★★★★ review of Autobiography (1.0) here


UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey comes next – 15 and 16 March at 19:30 Dur.: 1 hour 15 mins no interval


Wayne McGregor's UniVerse A Dark Crystal Odyssey, Company Wayne McGregor, Royal Opera House, London (2023), Photo: Andrej Uspenski

Universe: A Dark Crystal Odyssey had its world premiere at the ROH Linbury theatre last spring and is a very different animal from Autobiography. A reflection of McGregor's concern with the state of our planet, it is inspired by Jim Henson's 1980's cult fantasy film The Dark Crystal. A collaborative work, it brought together a long list of creatives to generate dizzying images and atmospheres via dance, video, puppetry, music and inventive lighting.

You can find Culture Whisper's ★★★★★ review of the world premiere of Universe: A Dark Crystal Odyssey here

Each work stands alone; together, though, they provide a fascinating snapshot of Wayne McGreogr's path as one of the most original and creative contemporary choreographers.