Review: Kabel, Sadler’s Wells East

With Kabel, brothers Anthony and Kel Matsena set out to reframe the ancient tale of Cain and Abel through a contemporary lens, combining dance, theatre, text, and sound. It’s a bold ambition, but while the production is technically polished and creatively unified, the emotional and narrative weight the piece seeks to carry ultimately proves too heavy for its frame.

Matsena’s concept is grounded in the story of Cain, who kills biblical brother Abel in a fit of jealousy, and extends that fratricidal rupture into a universal meditation on rage and betrayal. Programme notes position this as “the first murder in human history”, a claim that’s both historically inaccurate and artistically overblown. I’ve noted in quite a few dance productions that there’s a tension between the reach of the framing material and the clarity of the work itself. In this case, it sets up expectations that the performance struggles to meet.

To the credit of the company, the production is stylistically cohesive. Jasmine Araujo’s design is spare and suggestive, allowing the choreography to define the space. Ryan Joseph Stafford’s lighting carves up the stage with precision, helping to shape mood and structure scenes. The electronic score by Beth Lewis and sound design by Francis Botu pulse with intensity, matching the raw energy of the performers. Every creative element seems to be pulling in the same direction, creating a unified aesthetic that feels deliberate and professional.

But what’s missing is emotional texture. The 70-minute piece unfolds in a single, relentlessly dark tone. The choreography is sharp, brutal, tightly controlled and echoes the story’s violence but lacks variation in dynamics or feeling. There’s very little softness, and limited room for vulnerability or tenderness. The near-complete absence of physical contact between the dancers reinforces a sense of emotional distance rather than deepening the theme of rupture. Instead of heartbreak, we get hostility; instead of sorrow, spectacle.

The dancers, Anthony and Kel Matsena themselves, are undeniably committed, and their physical precision and stamina is impressive. Yet despite the sweat and ferocity, the language of their movement never quite resolves into something readable. Motifs appear and recur, but the narrative is sometimes obscure. It’s difficult to connect with the human side of this story when the emotion is expressed only through abstraction and force.

Even the soundscape, immersive as it is, contributes to this effect. The volume and intensity rarely let up, making the work feel more like an endurance test than a dialogue with the audience. The nightmarish quality that is cleverly evoked is overused and tiring. At times, the production feels hemmed in by its own ambition. It struggles to convey what it sees as universal themes because it’s too stylised and its vocabulary is too limited. 

Kabel is clearly the work of serious artists with a compelling mission: to reflect their experiences through innovative, multidisciplinary performance. But this piece, despite its polish, doesn’t manage to translate its epic themes into an accessible or moving experience. There’s promise here, but it’s buried under the weight of its own ambition.

Created & performed by Anthony Matsena & Kel Matsena
Designed by Jasmine Araujo
Lighting Designed by Ryan Joseph Stafford
Composed by Beth Lewis
Sound Design by Francis Botu
Produced by Molly Jones

Kabel has finished its run at Sadler’s Wells East