Award-winning and internationally acclaimed physical theatre company Gecko goes live with their new touring production Kin,playing at Oxford Playhouse on Wed 4 & Thu 5 Oct.

Gecko’s new show presents a provocative story of desperation and compassion, inspired by the epic journey from Yemen to Palestine that Artistic Director Amit Lahav’s grandmother Leah made with her family in 1932 to escape persecution. At a time when the re-birth of community and acceptance seem vital to our survival, our international devising performers bring their own experiences of migration, racism, empathy, and home to this poetically intoxicating performance.

Gecko’s Artistic Director Amit Lahav said:

“Every production that I create starts with a personal reflection combined with a current wider societal issue. In 2017, I visited my grandmother in Israel where we talked about her journey from Yemen to Palestine to escape persecution, as well as my family’s history more broadly. Kin was ultimately inspired by the desire to delve deeper into the complex mix of migration stories that make up who I am. Migration is a facet of human existence – we all have migration stories whether we’re aware of them or whether they’re more distant, and that excites me because we have the potential to encourage a profoundly positive, celebratory voyage towards empathy. We exist both where we’ve come from and where we’re going; this is what I wanted to explore through the creation of Kin.”

Commissioned by the National Theatre, Gecko will be performing their latest show around the UK, including Oxford Playhouse, HOME, Warwick Arts Centre, then onto Lighthouse Poole in the new year.

Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre said:

“I’ve been following Gecko’s work for a number of years and have a growing admiration for their dynamic and fearless approach to story in motion. Allied to this their commitment to internationalism, with completely integrated educational work, as well as their deeply embedded UK wide touring ethos, is hugely impressive. Their presence at the National Theatre is overdue, and we look forward very much to them being with us.”

Gecko will be touring to Oxford Playhouse before their debut at the National Theatre in Autumn 2023.