AlUla, known for its stunning landscapes and ancient heritage, is now home to a bold and unforgettable cultural experience: Azira, an immersive theatre production that debuted in December 2024. This first-of-its-kind experience in the Kingdom brings storytelling to life in a completely new way, inviting visitors to step into a living narrative shaped by myth, memory, and place.
Commissioned by the Royal Commission for AlUla, Azira invites audiences to step inside the story instead of watching it from afar. There are no traditional stages or rows of seats, instead, guests move through the desert, guided from scene to scene as the story unfolds around them. The experience blends theatre, movement, sound, and nature, creating a powerful connection between the land and the performance.
Blending theatre, cinematic sound, movement, and interactive set design, Azira transports audiences into a fictional world inspired by AlUla’s natural grandeur and ancient heritage. Directed by Lucy Ridley and designed by Ruby Law, the show takes place across various outdoor settings, each carefully built between AlUla’s massive sandstone rock formations. The journey begins with a symbolic train ride to a lost city and continues through open-air enclosures and canyons, each stage crafted to reflect a part of the story. With lighting, music, and voice acting, each space becomes an emotional part of the experience.
The experience begins as guests board a symbolic train leading to a “lost city,” guided by an action-heroine navigating a mysterious underground realm. Each scene is staged in a unique performance enclosure, many built between six monumental sandstone monoliths that form part of AlUla’s dramatic natural backdrop. These open-air theatres are lit and scored with such precision that they feel like portals to another time and dimension.
What makes Azira so special is how it blends natural beauty with modern performance. The show doesn’t just take place in AlUla, it uses AlUla as part of the story. Every rock, shadow, and breeze become part of the atmosphere. It’s not just theatre, it’s a journey that touches the senses and stays with you long after it ends.
For the Royal Commission for AlUla, Azira reflects a growing focus on contemporary art and cultural innovation. It shows that AlUla is not only a place of historical importance but also a space for creative storytelling and new ideas. The experience is also a result of international collaboration, bringing together artists and creators from different backgrounds to produce something truly unique for the region.
What makes Azira truly remarkable, however, is its fusion of form and landscape. It doesn’t rely on a traditional stage or script. Instead, the desert becomes the stage, and the audience becomes part of the unfolding mystery. It’s a multisensory journey through silence, sound, movement, and nature, one that encourages reflection and reawakens a sense of wonder.
Azira offered audiences more than a show, it offered an invitation to see AlUla through emotion, memory, and imagination. It reminded us that storytelling still has the power to connect people to place, and that even the oldest landscapes can speak in new ways when artists are given the freedom to explore.
