The Sydney Festival has kicked off, celebrating art, performance and big ideas. Among its highlights is the Australian premiere of Khalid Abdalla’s Nowhere. This one-man production adds a metaphysical dimension to Abdalla’s personal journey toward arriving ‘here.’
The production, directed by Omar Elerian, and produced by the UK company Fuel, begins with Abdalla’s experience and involvement in the 2011 Egyptian revolution, nimbly threading stories of the self, meaning and politics to create a tapestry of his own history.
In this production, the fourth wall does not exist, or rather, no walls exist as Abdalla creates a space removed from the confines of the Roslyn Packer Theatre. We are nowhere.
Abdalla captures the audience’s attention from the moment he starts his performance. His range is a testimony to his skills, which effortlessly translate from screen to the stage.
The entire performance feels like a paradox, with cascading scenes that suddenly shift tone and event, yet also gently transition you to each scene at the same time.
As an ‘anti-biography,’ the distinction between Abdalla as a performer and Abdalla as himself begins to blur. An intimacy and almost informal atmosphere is created, but within this laissez-faire approach, the audience is invited to share and respond to nuanced and, at times, comedic vulnerability.
The production feels like a visual depiction of an Egyptian J. Alfred Prufrock featuring its own magic lantern that throws nerves in patterns on a screen.
Sarah Readman’s video design is the secondary character of the performance, providing Abdalla with the visual aid to depict both time and the ‘not here.’
Ti Green’s simple set design also works brilliantly to accompany this, whilst also allowing Abdalla to transition seamlessly across the stage without disrupting the flow of the production.
Where the production falters is in its choreography. Elerian’s production uses scenes of dance to further evoke emotional depth in the performance. However, these scenes come across as slightly jarring and diminish the momentum and storytelling.
The ending of the performance also provides the most powerful sentiments but seems to mince its words. Much like Prufrock, it seems that it is impossible for Abdalla to say what he means. The script dips its toe into deconstructing peace and the function of violence, but quickly recoils before allowing the audience to really sit in its implications.
Despite its moments of hesitation, Nowhere remains a creatively profound production. It transforms personal history into collective inquiry and lingers as an unsettled meditation on presence, politics, and the impossibility of arrival.
Nowhere runs to 17 January at the Roslyn Packer Theatre as part of the 2026 Sydney Festival. 22 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay NSW 2000.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/nowhere
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/sydney_festival/
Photo credits: Neil Bennett
Stick around for a post-show talk following the 8pm show on 16 January. The post-show talk will last approximately 25 minutes.
Content advice: Contains distressing scenes, references to death, coarse language and loud music.
