Gecko Celebrates 25 Years and makes its Sadler’s Wells East Debut With THE WEDDING

Acclaimed physical theatre company Gecko makes its Sadler’s Wells East debut in January with The Wedding as part of MimeLondon 2026. The production, presented in the company’s 25th anniversary year, explores the complexities of human nature; the tensions between love and anger, creation and destruction, community and isolation. This reimagined staging invites audiences to consider the contracts and commitments that shape our lives

Against a backdrop of wedding dresses and formal obligations, Gecko’s international ensemble of eight performers conjure a dystopian world in which we are all brides, bound to society.

Through movement, imagery and provocative narratives in Gecko’s trademark style, The Wedding brings matrimonial contracts into question with an emotionally charged and spectacular performance. 

Sound and music are central to every Gecko production, with composer Dave Price creating original scores for the company since its beginnings. The Wedding features an expansive, cinematic soundscape in which multiple spoken languages add emotional and textural layers, with dialogue often fragmented or murmured to allow language to function expressively rather than literally. This production includes the widest range of languages of any Gecko show, spanning Cantonese, Mandarin, Norwegian, English, Spanish, Georgian, Malayalam, Italian, Nahuatl and Esperanto.

The Wedding premiered in 2017 and has since been showed internationally, at venues including the Barbican Theatre in London, Maribor Theatre Festival in Slovenia and Stadsschouwburg in the Netherlands. Supported by Strategic Touring funding from Arts Council England, the 2018 tour included an audience-development programme with post-show panels, outreach residencies for young people from local and migrant communities, and free workshops in partnership with the Transition Network.

This year marks Gecko’s 25th anniversary since the company was founded in 2001, and Sadler’s Wells is excited to celebrate this milestone.

Artistic Director, Amit Lahav said ‘We are thrilled to be making our debut at Sadler’s Wells in our 25th anniversary year, and to be bringing back a reimagined staging of one of our most loved productions, The Wedding

For twenty-five years, we have been creating powerful, visceral theatre that speaks across cultures to what it is to be human. In that time, we have performed on major stages around the world, developing a unique physical language that transcends borders and connects audiences to deep emotional truths. To be returning to London, in our 25th year, to one of the world’s great homes for international dance — and to be partnering once again with the vital MimeLondon — feels like a truly special moment to bring The Wedding to Sadler’s Wells East.

The Wedding explores the complexity of our longing to belong, the entitlement and fear that can shape society, and the hope we find through community. It asks us to consider how we live together - our hopes, our fears, and the ways we reach toward one another with empathy.’

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