The 2025 UK tour saw Songs of the Bulbul receive widespread critical acclaim, with sold-out performances, standing ovations, and strong audience response across the country. Building on this success, the work now returns for a second major UK tour, bringing it to new audiences while revisiting key cultural centres that embraced the production last year.
During the royal visit earlier in 2026, the Princess of Wales viewed an intimate excerpt of the work and described the performance as “so moving” and “extraordinary”, highlighting the growing cultural resonance of the piece and its ability to connect audiences through deeply human themes of devotion, transformation, and transcendence.
2026 UK Summer Tour
The tour will visit:
- Oxford Playhouse – Oxford
- Watford Palace Theatre – Watford
- Sadler’s Wells Theatre – London
- Cambridge Arts Theatre – Cambridge
This new tour continues the work’s expanding journey, strengthening its presence across the UK while building on its growing international reputation.
A Work of Spiritual Power and Emotional Precision
Songs of the Bulbul is a deeply evocative Sufi-inspired dance work by Aakash Odedra, created in collaboration with choreographer Rani Khanam and composer Rushil Ranjan. Rooted in the ancient myth of the bulbul: a nightingale whose final song becomes its most transcendent expression, the piece explores longing, surrender, beauty, and the fragility of life.
Blending Kathak technique with contemporary physicality and Sufi poetic traditions, the work unfolds as a ritualistic journey through movement, sound, and atmosphere. Music, sculptural lighting, and symbolic imagery combine to create an immersive theatrical world that is both intimate and expansive.
Premiering at the Edinburgh International Festival to critical acclaim, the production has since toured internationally, receiving standing ovations and widespread praise for its emotional depth and visual richness.
At its heart, the work carries a personal dedication from Aakash Odedra to his late mother, affectionately known as his “smiling bulbul”, adding an intimate emotional resonance to its universal themes.
A Landmark Second UK Tour
The 2026 UK Summer Tour marks an important new chapter for Songs of the Bulbul, following its acclaimed 2025 debut UK tour and subsequent international presentations across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and major UK venues including Curve Leicester, Birmingham Hippodrome, The Lowry, Sadler’s Wells East, Oxford Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse, Abu Dhabi, and Sydney Opera House.
This second UK tour further establishes the work as one of the most significant contemporary dance productions of recent years, a piece that continues to evolve in meaning, scale, and emotional impact.
Audiences in Watford, Oxford, Cambridge, and London are invited to experience this celebrated production as it returns to UK stages with renewed urgency and artistic depth.
Book your experience here
Photo Credits: Angela Grabowska
