World Première: 13-14 July 2019, Stuttgart
“I have awakened to a new way of dancing. And that is to dance my ideas through the bodies of others, including older dancers, who carry their histories and complex emotional experiences within them. But what remains unchanged is my passion for exploring old and new myths in the context of our times.” – Akram Khan
We are thrilled to present our new Company production Outwitting the Devil. Stirring classical and contemporary, Akram Khan explores our oldest rituals in the midst of our ever-changing planet. He brings together a superb ensemble of six international artists sharing great differences in their practice: Ching-Ying Chien, Andrew Pan, Dominique Petit, James Vu Anh Pham, Mythili Prakash and Sam Pratt.
Inspired by the newly discovered fragment of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the world’s earliest surviving great works of literature, Akram’s new work is a concentrated epic about ritual and remembering. In a landscape of broken tablets and fallen idols, its six characters trade their remaining wealth and stories, seeking to make whole the fragments of ancient knowledge lost and forgotten over time.
To weave the narrative and design of this new piece, Akram has invited his close collaborators: dramaturg Ruth Little, composer Vincenzo Lamagna, rehearsal director Mavin Khoo, costume designer Kimie Nakano, and writer Jordan Tannahill – joined by lighting designer Aideen Malone and visual designer Tom Scutt. Combining live and recorded music and video projection, Outwitting the Devil invites us all to the table where life, death and our half-remembered myths are the bread we break together.
