Malik Nashad Sharpe is a choreographer and movement director working with dance, dark fantasy, and horror. Creating primarily under the alias Marikiscrycrycry, he makes provocative performance works that are formally engaged with the construction of affect, atmosphere, and dramaturgy from marginal perspectives.
His works have circulated widely across the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and the United States. Commissions include the Yard Theatre (United Kingdom), Théâtre La Chapelle (Canada), Festival TransAmériques (Canada), New Queers on the Block (United Kingdom), Marlborough Productions (United Kingdom), Dansehallerne (Denmark), MDT (Sweden), Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (United Kingdom), Dance4 (United Kingdom), The Place (United Kingdom), Theatre in the Mill (United Kingdom), Fierce Festival (United Kingdom), CCN Caen (France), Block Universe (United Kingdom), Cambridge Junction (United Kingdom), Roskilde Festival (Denmark), New Dimensions (United Kingdom), Tanzhaus NRW (Germany), and MDT (Sweden), among others.
His work has been presented at Battersea Arts Centre (United Kingdom), Montréal arts interculturels (Canada), Birmingham Hippodrome (United Kingdom), Edison/Betty Nansen Teatret (Denmark), Pia Bouman School at Scotiabank Theatre (Canada), University Settlement (United States), Schauspielhaus (Austria), Institute of Contemporary Arts (United Kingdom), Kampnagel (Germany), Tate Britain (United Kingdom), MDT (Sweden), Beursschouwburg (Belgium), Inkonst (Sweden), Sundsvalls Teater (Sweden), Project Arts Centre (Ireland), Bora Bora (Denmark), Abrons Arts Center (United States), Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (United States), and Norrlandsoperan (Sweden). Festival presentations include ImPulsTanz (Austria), Birmingham International Dance Festival (United Kingdom), Glasgow International Dance Festival (United Kingdom), American Realness (United States), Les Urbaines (Switzerland), Skopje Pride (North Macedonia), Mayfest (United Kingdom), Audra Festival (Lithuania), Side Step Festival (Finland), Edinburgh Festival Fringe (United Kingdom), NottDance (United Kingdom), Roskilde (Denmark), and CODA Oslo International Dance Festival (Norway), among others.
At the sixteenth edition of Festival TransAmériques, he premiered High Bed Lower Castle (2022), co-created with Montreal-based choreographer Ellen Furey. The work was met with critical acclaim, described as “bold, rich, dreamlike” (Artichaut) and “remarkable, mesmerising” (Westmount).
In 2023, his large-scale production DARK, HAPPY, to the CORE premiered at Roskilde Festival to widespread critical acclaim. Critics characterized it as “jaw-dropping” (Scenenblog); “entertaining, good style, sexiness” (Politiken); “quivering, smouldering, postapocalyptic” (Seismograf); and “exciting, challenging, intense” (TBA.no), with Information.dk writing that it “grabbed me by the collar and reminded me of the radicality and wildness of Roskilde.”
In 2025, Sharpe joined Norrdans (Sweden) as lead choreographer, marking a significant new chapter in his European career. His work AIR BODY SAD premiered to widespread critical acclaim across Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Celebrated for its striking and unflinching portrayal of teenage life, the production was described by some critics as “the best dance I have ever seen,” consolidating his reputation for creating work of rare emotional force and formal precision. His forthcoming British-made stage work HANGTIME, co-commissioned by The Place (London), Dansehallerne (Copenhagen), Tanzhaus NRW (Düsseldorf), and MAYK (Bristol), will premiere in London in autumn 2026, further extending his international collaborations and profile.
In 2025, Sharpe was awarded the prestigious UK-wide New Dimensions Commission—a major national platform supporting ambitious large-scale performance, delivered in partnership by Battersea Arts Centre, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Take Me Somewhere, Tramway, and Transform. The commission represents one of the most significant opportunities for mid-career artists working in the United Kingdom, enabling the development and national presentation of a major new work. Sharpe’s new large-scale production, titled The Healing Industry, will premiere in autumn 2027.
Parallel to his choreographic practice, Sharpe works extensively as a movement director within the British theatre sector. Credits include Henry V (Shakespeare’s Globe/Headlong), Bootycandy (Gate), Closer (Lyric Hammersmith), The Glow (Royal Court), Scandaltown (Lyric Hammersmith), The Two-Character Play (Hampstead Theatre), Fairview (Young Vic), Effigies of Wickedness (Gate/English National Opera), A View from the Bridge (Headlong/Chichester Festival Theatre/Bolton Octagon), Mates in Chelsea (Royal Court), Ada (National Youth Theatre), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe/Headlong). In 2025, he co-directed a large-scale production of Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Royal Stratford East/Sadler’s Wells East) to rave reviews.
His movement direction extends to fashion advertisement campaigns for Adidas, Converse, and Dr. Martens; to film, including The Man in My Basement (Protagonist Pictures); and to music videos for Lyzza, Box, Chi, John Glacier, Deto Black, P-rallel, Bianca Scout, Chinchilla, Naomi Scott, Mae Muller, and Shy Smith. He also consults internationally in movement dramaturgy and choreographic practice.
In 2019, he was named a Rising Star in Dance by Attitude magazine. In 2022, he was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in recognition of his distinctive and far-reaching choreographic achievements. In 2023, he was nominated for the Premio Cunha e Silva at Galeria Municipal do Porto (Portugal). He lives and works in London.
