Immersive surrealist show Cachés: Clé À Dalí to debut in London this May

A Ukrainian-British immersive production inspired by Salvador Dalí's only novel will make its London debut this May, with four performances at Kingswood House.

Cachés: clé à Dalí is an immersive surrealist show fusing visual spectacle and intimate storytelling, set against the backdrop of pre-World War II Europe. Inspired by Dalí's exploration of desire, dreams and the imminence of war, the performances are an R&D showcase for a production with ambitions to open as a long-running experience in London.

Set across multiple rooms at Kingswood House, Cachés: clé à Dalí follows three interconnected couples against the backdrop of pre-war Europe. The show takes the audience to a fraught dinner party at a French estate, the beach at Cadaqués, where Dalí and Gala first met and a whimsical surrealist party in 1939 that does not end as expected.

Poignant, provocative and deeply sensory, Cachés: clé à Dalí asks what we hide from the world, what we bury inside ourselves, and what survives when everything else is lost.

Photo: Anna Sandul

On 23rd February 2022, the original creative team gathered in Kyiv for a photoshoot at the Chocolate House, the venue selected for the world premiere of Cachés: clé à Dalí, scheduled for 29th March 2022. The following morning's rehearsal was to feature a scene entitled The Face of War, inspired by Salvador Dalí's painting of the same name. That night, russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The rehearsal did not take place. The premiere was cancelled. The production has survived.

Cachés: clé à Dalí had been living in the world of the imminence of war long before it became reality. Salvador Dalí's novel is prophetic. So, it turns out, was this production.

Anastasiya Yevchenko, Writer, Director and Producer, comments:

Thematically, the show asks if history always repeats itself, what can we then do to break the vicious cycle of wars, dictators and destruction? We want to show Ukraine not as a victim of war but as a country protecting the world’s freedom and democracy. A country where theatre is blooming as an act of unification and resilience. A country full of creative, innovative, and fearless ideas and people. We wish to tell our story through a unique lens, creating a new style: immersive surrealism.

Cachés: clé à Dalí is written, directed and produced by Anastasiya Yevchenko, a Ukrainian theatre-maker and producer. She is the founder of the NGO, New Ukrainian Drama and in 2022, Yevchenko brought the project to London as a participant in the Artists at Risk cultural residency programme at Glass Half Full Productions, supported by the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals. In 2024, she was awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice bursary from Arts Council England to develop the project further and is currently a participant in the Stage One Bridge the Gap Producer Programme 2025-2026.

The London R&D is produced in association with HH Productions and Owen Kingston. The R&D team includes designers Mariia Kero, Geoffrey Leahy and Natasha Finch, lighting designer Sophie Telfer, sound designer Gabriel Burns, featuring original music by Georgy Bystryakov and sound design by Yana Shlyabanska.

The show's cast is led by Peter Broughton, Polina Snisarenko-Kulchytska, Joe Leather, Denys Rodnianskyi and Nastasya Korablina.

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Cachés: clé à Dalí runs at Kingswood House near Sydenham Hill station from 13th to 15th May 2026. Tickets are Pay What You Can, and can be purchased via cachesuniverse.com