“We are in an alien world. Only awkward movement is possible.” (Bayo Akomolafe) Choreographer Cherish Menzo examines the figure of the monster in FRANK—short for Frankenstein. More than (re)producing a physical or visual portrayal of the monster, she is researching the monstrous as an embodiment of beliefs and narratives that terrify and horrify, and yet also attract us.

Distortion is a choreographic leitmotif used to generate movement material and as a tool to devour the dance and loosen its structure. Menzo investigates the action of decay and how something gradually breaking down and becoming less or worse can affect one’s gestures. She is joined by Omagbitse Omagbemi, Mulunesh, and Malick Cissé—performing artists from different generations—to construct a performance between the ritual, the apocalypse, and the carnival, where narrated identities are challenged, where flesh can deviate and be corrupted until it bursts and becomes unbearable.

The dancers express their standing in the world with incoherent, broken-down movement in a scenery that collapses around them. In an increasingly unstable world of hiccups and unlikely events, often gruesome and violent, we are reminded of early horror movies and this eerie feeling, the flicker in the dark.

"Menzo is a bold performer, she's got nerve, she's got a very still steeliness about her and she's got important things to say." - Lyndsey Winship, 2022, The Guardian

"Although Menzo’s works are decidedly political, they seem to take a different route to politics than more conventional activist performance. By “stretching the notions of time,” Menzo aims to “generate new readings” for the black body." - Jonas Rutgeerts, 2025, The Drama Review