Meet the team

Illustration of two stylized humanoid figures with contrasting colors and simplified features.

Dance and Theatre that builds

community and provokes change.

Akbar and Ashby are partners literally and creatively. a2 Company is their production house. They work with Live Music, Contemporary Dance and Original Text in order to bring artists and audiences together,  because making and watching live art builds community. And communities give people collective purpose, and collective purpose creates change.

In 2025 a2 Company will be developing a new work and touring Running into the Sun, dates and locations are yet to be announced.

Close-up portrait of a young woman (Nadiyah Akbar) with dark hair, wearing a white top and hoop earrings, with a blurred natural outdoor background.

Meet the Co-Directors


  • Co-Director and Choreographer

A smiling man (Ben Ashby) with curly dark hair and a mustache, wearing a black sweater with arms crossed, standing outdoors with blurred green trees in the background.

  • Co-Director