AHILAN RATNAMOHAN is a performance-maker working with a-typical forms in the theatre context, in particular football and language-learning processes. He works almost exclusively with people without classical performance training.
After completing a film degree at the University of Technology, Sydney in 2005, he attempted to make a career as a professional footballer in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. Since 2007 he has been creating live performance pieces. His development came through collaboration with diverse Sydney-based companies and artists, in particular Urban Theatre Projects, Branch Nebula and Martin del Amo.
In 2013 he premiered his first work as director, Michael Essien I want to play as you... in Antwerp, which led to the formation of The Star Boy Collective - a performance troupe comprised of West African football migrants - and the creation of Star Boy Productions, Reverse Colonialism! and Look On The Bright Side ensued. Through productions such as SDS1, Drill, Klapping, Le Maillot - One Size Fits All and Football Echoes he has investigated the cultural and choreographic potential of football and athletics. Since 2013 he has been working in Europe, with a base in Antwerp mainly in residence at Monty Kultuurfaktorij. He continues to work both in choreography as well as social-political theatre. In 2017 he created a trilogy of works exploring the political power of language in residence at Homo Novus Festival in Riga and continued to research the performativity of language learning through a research project at the Antwerp Conservatoire. Ahilan has been part of the Brussels collective ROBIN vzw since 2020 and is currently artist-in-residency at Kaaitheater.