Sadiq Ali Company Returns with Powerful New Production Tell Me

Elena Leo is the Arts & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.

A bold new circus and dance work exploring life with HIV in the 21st century.

Sadiq Ali Company returns with Tell Me, a powerful new circus and dance production reimagining the HIV narrative for the present day. Touring from 16 January to 10 February 2026, the show premieres at The Lowry, Salford, before visiting London, Worthing and Edinburgh.

Created and directed by Sadiq Ali and produced by Turtle Key Arts, Tell Me follows a woman navigating her HIV diagnosis in a world still shaped by silence, stigma and misunderstanding. Through Chinese Pole, aerial artistry and physical theatre, the production explores fear, intimacy, resilience and the shifting sense of self that accompanies life-changing news.

Blending visceral movement with emotional storytelling, Tell Me embraces a hopeful, human vision of living with HIV in the 21st century. The work transforms lived experience into a shared story of empathy and connection, asking audiences not simply to confront prejudice, but to imagine what understanding might look like instead.

The production features performers Sadiq Ali, Jonah Russell and Phoebe Knight, with lighting design by Jamie Heseltine, sound by Guy Veale, dramaturgy by Rishi Trikha and scenography and costume design by Aslı Özüak. Choreography consultation comes from Jonathan Lunn and Junior Cunningham.

Developed in consultation with HIV charities Positively UK and CHIVA (Children’s HIV Association), the tour will be accompanied by post-show discussions addressing what it means to live with HIV in 2026.

Following the international success of The Chosen Haram — which toured to more than 25 UK venues and major festivals worldwide — Tell Me marks the next step in Sadiq Ali Company’s mission to use circus as a vehicle for social change.

Tour dates include: