San Francisco Ballet to Make London Return With MERE MORTALS at Sadler's Wells

San Francisco Ballet will return to London for the first time since 2019 with Mere Mortals at Sadler's Wells Theatre from Wednesday 9 – Saturday 12 September, featuring an original score for symphony orchestra and electronics written acclaimed British electronic music producer and DJ Floating Points who will also be performing live. The new ballet features choreography by Aszure Barton and marks the company's first visit to England since Tamara Rojo took up post as Artistic Director, previously Artistic Director of English National Ballet.

Commissioned by Rojo to open her inaugural season in San Francisco in 2024, Mere Mortals marked the company's first full-length commission from a female choreographer. Following its world premiere and multiple sold-out performances during the 2023–2024 season, Mere Mortals will have its European premiere at Edinburgh International Festival from Friday 28 - Sunday 30 August before coming to Sadler's Wells Theatre. 

With the original premiere in San Francisco - a city known as the epicentre of technology - at a time when the AI conversation was accelerating from niche industry topic to global phenomenon, its 2026 return lands with even greater relevancy.

Mere Mortals reimagines the ancient Greek myth of Pandora and Prometheus, using a modern perspective on the rapid acceleration of technology and scientific progress. In the original myth, Pandora is the first mortal woman, fashioned by the gods and gifted a sealed box by Zeus with a single instruction: do not open it. Curiosity wins, and she releases all the evils of the world into existence. When the box is sealed again, one thing remains inside: Hope.

Composer-producer-musician-DJ Sam Shepherd, more commonly known as Floating Points, is an artist of genre defying versatility. Classically trained, revered on the international club scene, and with a Mercury Prize-shortlisted jazz album to his name, in January 2024 he played synths alongside the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra as the company gave the world premiere of his first full-length ballet score for Mere Mortals. A potent mix of elegiac strings, apocalyptic brass and pulsing electronics, the original composition utilises the Buchla synthesizer, an instrument invented in the Bay Area in 1963. Floating Point's album of the score for Mere Mortals will be released on Friday 28 August.

Inspired by classicist-author-broadcaster Natalie Haynes, the creative team explored how misogyny had woven its way into the myth, recontextualizing Pandora as a complex, empowered figure.

Barton's choreography builds distinct movement languages for each character in the ballet, fashioned in broad-shouldered coats and sleek unitards designed by Michelle Jank. Hamill Industries, frequent collaborators of Floating Points, integrates three mobile LED screen panels to enhance the visual storytelling throughout the production, employing artificial intelligence as an artistic tool in the creation of some of the onstage visuals. The full sensory architecture is complete with lighting designed by Jim French.

Created in a city defined by innovation and technology, Mere Mortals fuses movement, music and cutting-edge visuals to examine the promises and perils of humankind.

Tamara Rojo said, “San Francisco Ballet and Sadler's Wells are bound by a fierce commitment to ambitious, boundary-pushing performance and bold collaborations, and we are honoured to return to the London stage with Mere Mortals as a reflection of this shared vision. This is a ballet that poses universal questions about technology, humanity, and the risks we take in the name of progress—brought to life by an extraordinary creative team. The result is a work unlike anything ballet has seen before, and I cannot wait for London to experience the innovative spirit of San Francisco.”

Need more UK Regional Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...