Last Updated on July 9, 2026
An Ancient Sufi Story Brought to Life in Dance
4.0 out of 5.0 starsThe bulbul, or nightingale, is a central figure in Persian culture, its bewitching song representing a spiritual seeker, yearning for union with the divine. It is, then, particularly troubling that the ancient Sufi myth of the bulbul tells of the bird’s increasing confinement, so that its suffering refines its song, until finally its eyes are plucked out and, sensing the approach of death, the bulbul produces its sweetest, most passionate melody.
This we are told at the beginning of Aakash Odedra’s one-man show Songs of the Bulbul by a disembodied male voice that resonates in the darkness of the theatre. Odedra’s show premiered a couple of years ago, has featured in the Edinburgh Festival, and has now embarked on a short residency at Sadier’s Wells East as part of a UK tour.
Odedra is a mesmerising dancer. Birmingham-born, his roots are in South Asia, and he was trained in the bharatanatyam and kathak dances of the sub-continent, which he successfully blends with contemporary technique to create the individual language, which has earned him a raft of awards, including the 2025 Outstanding Male Dancer from the UK Critics Circle.
In Songs of the Bulbul, Odedra creates a fully rounded, emotional show, with Rushil Ranjan’s expansive musical score harmoniously blending orchestral and Indian classical traditions, recorded by the Manchester Camerata and featuring powerful, emotive voices singing Sufi poetry. The choreography is by kathak luminary Rani Khanam, and the immensely effective lighting is by Fabiana Piccioli. Emanuele Salamanca’s set has a wide semicircle of short thick candles to our left. Opposite, dark brown branches hang from above. The stage is strewn with red rose petals, the rose being the flower to which the bulbul often directs its song.
Emerging from a restrictive sort of cocoon, Odedra, dressed in a dervish’s white robe, rises. As he skitters about the stage, it becomes clear he is a carefree bulbul, enjoying its freedom. Odedra cocks his head bird-like, while the fingers of his hands, held in front of his chest, mimic flight. Just once or twice his arms beat like wings. He jumps; his feet slam the floor, his ample skirt augmenting the movement and the sensation of flight as he evokes the whirling dervishes of the Sufi tradition. This section is light-hearted in its innocence, but it’s already tainted by our prior knowledge of what is to come. It is, I found, a tad too long, much as Odedra’s dancing is enjoyable.
Soon, though, the mood changes abruptly, as the bulbul is captured. Shafts of light draw confined spaces on the floor, and eventually the brown branches descend to form a cage. Odedra’s arms are now pinned behind his back, his hands fluttering ineffectually as the bulbul seeks freedom, his ever more frenzied dancing miming the increasing despair of the captive bird’s song.
A heart-rending cry denotes the blinding, the dancer crouching downstage, his hands covering his face; in the final song of the dying bulbul, blindfolded Odedra moves towards the candles. His touch lights them up – darkness gives rise to light.
The opening voiceover establishes the parallel between the bulbul and the way in which, with every performance, the artist leaves something of himself on the stage; though the end also brings liberation, a point made in the final dance, when Odedra releases a flimsy, translucent length of cloth into the air, a soul, perhaps, freed from its mortal cage to achieve the longed for union with the divine for both mythical bird and artist.
Lasting for one uninterrupted hour, Songs of the Bulbul is an absorbing, beautifully framed cross-cultural dance performance, presented by an exceptional stage artist. To make it even more enticing, it’s hosted by Sadler’s Wells East’s deliciously air-conditioned theatre.
Songs of the Bulbul is at Sadler’s Wells East, 7 – 11 July at 7.30 pm
Dur.: 60 mins. Tickets £15 – £45 (+ £4 transaction fee)
Sadler’s Wells East
Stratford Walk
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
London, E20 2AR
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