A dance that carries the 1980s into the present, and finds how much has not changed
Made in Scotland, Sadiq Ali’s Tell Me retells the story of AIDS through cubes and bodies that move between intimacy, play and the physical constraints of the structures around them.
The dance follows Grace, who, while living with her loving partner, receives an HIV diagnosis in the present day and is transported back to the 1980s, where she meets Michael, a young gay man who is not afraid of showing the world who he is, dancing and playing around. Together, they go on a journey through a time when the fearlessness of queer joy was halted by the fear and misinformation surrounding AIDS, as well as the homophobic politics of Thatcherism. Michael eventually dies from the disease, leaving Grace to return to the present and face HIV with her loved ones.
As illustrated in the poster and flyer, Tell Me is choreographed around cubes, big and small, with Sadiq Ali’s company dancing with them, within them and using their structures as poles. Their movements are sometimes supportive towards each other, while at other times they are full of power and joy, as they hold each other’s bodies or play around the stage as if they were in a nightclub. Some movements are striking enough to draw applause, but the dancers never seem to be performing them simply to display their physical skills. Instead, the movement remains tied to the characters and the world they inhabit. The cubes become part of that world, sometimes enclosing the dancers, sometimes supporting them, and sometimes becoming something to play around with. This creates a comparison between the 1980s and the present: despite the advances in medical treatment for HIV, something remains the same, from misunderstanding of the condition to the toxic politicisation of the disease and the inequalities in treatment and care.
There is also a small technical incident during the show. The cubes are designed to be suspended from ropes and manually pulled up and down by a technician, and the performance is briefly stopped when an unexpected technical issue occurs. What makes the moment revealing is the extent to which the production is handled by the company itself. With a limited budget, the cast also takes on the work of changing and managing the set, incorporating these changes into the choreography rather than treating them as interruptions to it. Even when something goes wrong, the transition back into the performance is remarkably smooth, showing how much of the production is built into the performers’ own physical work.
Tell Me’s strongest quality is the way it uses its physical language to connect two periods without reducing either of them to a simple historical comparison. If the show could push its ideas further, it could explore more fully not only how the gay culture of the 1980s shaped Grace, but also what Grace, carrying the knowledge and experience of 2026, might have been able to change for Michael.
Show listing:
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Venue: Dissection Room at Summerhall
Dates: 6th–30th August
Time: 19:00
Ticket prices: £18.50 / concessions £16
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Age suitability: 16+ (Guideline)