Holy Dirt

by Thirunarayan Productions

Physical Theatre, Dance

An image of two dancers, with one leaning over a long grey table. The dancer in the foreground is wearing a blind fold.

Holy Dirt is a vibrant, funny and beautifully episodic performance that playfully explores the mythic feminine as she struggles ridiculously through our climate catastrophe. She stumbles, she dances, she transforms.

Clay, stones, water, and sand erupt across the space in a visually startling drama set to a rich global soundscape, where the rawness of earth converges with myth and ritual. Holy Dirt is performed by Vidya Thirunarayan with a second performer and is directed and designed by the creative all-rounder David Glass.

An image of a male and female performers. The male is showing her a pot of water from which she is washing her hands.

An image of a male and female performer on a makeshift platform with a sunlit sky background.

An image of a male and female performer stood on a make shift platform with a sunlit sky background.

“What a brilliant and moving show. The comedy and tragedy were joyous to watch!”

Audience, Ensemble Festival 2025

About Thirunarayan Productions

Internationally renowned as a Bharatanatyam dancer, Vidya Thirunarayan is also a prominent ceramicist, and in 2015 she began producing and promoting work that blends her dual expertise as a dancer and potter.

Her first work, Lives of Clay (2021/22), was directed by Tim Supple funded by Without Walls and Arts Council England, commissioned by Brighton Festival, Certain Blacks, with support from 101 Outdoor Arts and ArtAsia.

The performance toured 17 UK venues and was later reimagined in India in collaboration with QTP to tour flagship festivals including the Tata Literature festival, Mumbai and Serendipity Festival, Goa.

Holy Dirt, funded by Arts Council England and InKo Centre, India and commissioned by Certain Blacks and Art Asia, premiered at Ensemble Festival in July 2025. In May 2026 Holy Dirt was presented at Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Brighton Festival and at Inspirate An Indian Summer, Leicester (July) commissioned by Brighton Festival and Inspirate.

It will embark on an international tour across the UK, India and Korea in 2026–27 in partnership and funded by InKo Centre, India.

Creation and Production Credits

Artistic director and performer: Vidya Thirunarayan

Director and Designer: David Glass

Second performer: tbc

Composer/Sound Design: Foz Foster

Production Manager: Sam Rush

Stage Manager: Joseph Williams

Producers: Lisa Wolfe, UK; InKo Centre, India

Funding, commissioning and partner credits:

Holy Dirt is supported by Without Walls and commissioned by Brighton Festival and An Indian Summer. The work has been funded by Arts Council England, with generous support from Certain Blacks, 101 Outdoor Arts, and ArtAsia. It is being made in partnership with InKo Centre, India, which produces and tours the performance in India and Korea.

Image credits: