Akram Khan’s Creature
English National Ballet
Following the pivotal impact of his reimagined Giselle, Akram Khan returns to English National Ballet for his third collaboration with the company. Creature is an unearthly tale of exploitation and human frontiers inspired by Georg Büchner’s expressionist classic Woyzeck, with shadows of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Drawing on themes of abandonment, isolation and the fragility of the mind, Creature is the tale of an outsider and the search for belonging. Khan is joined by a brilliant creative team of Academy Award-winning designer Tim Yip, composer and sound designer Vincenzo Lamagna, lighting designer Michael Hulls and dramaturg Ruth Little.
Akram Khan on Creature: “The outcast, the stranger, have been a common theme in my work. In Creature, I am looking further into the areas related to the sense of abandonment, rage and loss.”
A co-production between English National Ballet and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Co-Producer: Sadler’s Wells, London
Production Partner: The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater
This engagement will include live music performed by Harris Theater Resident Company Chicago Philharmonic Society.

A performance of Akram Khan’s Creature will be audio-described. Email access@harristheaterchicago.org or call 312.334.7777 to inquire about the performance date. For more information about accessible services at the Harris, please visit our Accessibility page.
Event Sponsors
- Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund
Harris Theater Presents Dance Series Sponsor
- Caryn and King Harris, Harris Family Foundation
Engagement Presenting Sponsor
Corporate Engagement Sponsor
- Brenda Shapiro
Engagement Lead Sponsor