A live, suspenseful choreography delving into the depths of psychological horror. Exploring alienation, migration, violence and more, it crafts radical visual culture from the marginalised perspective and engages a new Black tradition of horror in live performance.
The Goner is someone who is doomed with no chance of survival—bound to death, a lost and hopeless case.
This work follows this figure on a sensuous, suspense-filled and fearsome choreographic journey into the psychological depths of the Goner’s horror. Lightly touching on the topics of abuse, Caribbean migration, alienation, belonging, addiction, and violence, Goner is utilising the formal tools of solo authorship and the aesthetics of horror to create radical visual culture from the marginalised perspective, and to tease out and establish a Black tradition of horror for the live context.
How do we look at culturally specific narratives against a backdrop of thrilling, bloody, and psychological horror?
Who knows
but there will be blood
Bio
Malik Nashad Sharpe is a choreographer and movement director working with dance, dark fantasy, and horror. Creating primarily underneath the alias Marikiscrycrycry, he makes provocative performance works that are formally engaged with construction of affect, atmosphere, and dramaturgy from more marginal perspectives. He graduated with a BA in Experimental Dance with highest honours from Williams College, and holds a certificate in Contemporary Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance, where he won the Simone Michele Prize for Outstanding Choreography.
His works address violence, alienation, horror, melancholia, belonging, and the horizon and his many works have been widely presented across the U.K., Europe, Canada, and the USA. In 2019, he was named a Rising Star in Dance from Attitude Magazine, and in 2022 he was featured on the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list for his unique and pervasive choreographic achievements. In 2023, he was nominated for the Premio Cunha e Silva Prize at Galeria Municipal do Porto (PT).
He is currently an Associate Artist at The Place, and a former studio resident of Somerset House Studios. He has held artistic residencies at Sadlers Wells, Barbican, Performance Situation Room, Dance4, Duckie, and Tate Modern. He is currently a guest teacher in dance and performance at the Stockholm University of the Arts in Sweden. In 2025, he will join Norrdans (SE) as a lead choreographer, creating new touring repertory work for the company. He lives in London, U.K.
https://maliknashadsharpe.com/
Photo: Ralf Hersborg
Choreography: Malik Nashad Sharpe
Musical Direction: Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura
Set Design: Felix Villiers
Lighting Design: Barnaby Booth
Costume Design: Erik Annerborn
Dramaturg: Jay Miller
Production Manager: James Dawson
Assistant Production Manager: Han Sayles
Project Producer: Michael Kitchin
Strategic Producers: The Uncultured
Marketing: Secoura Grim
PR: Binita Walia
Music Composition and Sound Design: Luke Blair
Rehearsal Direction: Blue Makwana
Hair: ManWigs
Featuring music by: Arif Cooper (R.I.P.), De Schuurman, Poundshoppe, and Don Sinini
Voiceover: OBOBOB
Text Consultancy: Travis Alabanza
Promotional Images: Ralf Hersborg
Promotional Styling: HASZNAT*
Trailer / Short Film: Sinisa
Trailer / Image Movement Direction: Ethan Samuel Jacobs
Trailer Talent: Isabelle Gzowski, Gabriel Chen, Chloe Filani, Iman Villaruel, Shemi Cudjoe
Trailer Sound: ‘Body of Carbon’ by Croation Amor and Varg2TM courtesy of Posh Isolation
Co-commissioned by: The Yard Theatre (UK), Dansehallerne (DK), MDT (SK) and Cambridge Junction (UK) with support from Stobbs New Ideas Fund.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Additional Support by: Fest en Fest (UK), The Place (UK), Portland Institute of Contemporary Art’s Creative Exchange Lab with lead support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (USA), Toronto Community Love-in (CA), My Wild Flag (SK), Sadler’s Wells (UK), Watermans Arts Centre (UK), Caldera Arts Centre (USA), New Expressive Works (USA) and Live Art Development Agency (UK).
