I love Akram Khan's work. I have seen him dance with his own dance company. I have seen him dance with Sylvie Guillem. And I have now had the pleasure of seeing the UK premiere of his wonderful production, Outwitting the Devil, at Sadler's Wells.
As is usual for me, I did not pre-read the 'story'. I preferred to take my seat and simply watch the dancers, the ebb and flow of their movements, their extraordinarily intense physicality. The use of lighting was highly intelligent and stunning: at times the stage looked truly vast. I found the whole thing exquisite, astonishing, and utterly compelling.
Back at home, I felt inspired to create a series of miniature paintings of the six dancers. I wanted somehow to try and translate onto paper, the beauty and dynamism of what I had seen.
The following day, a couple of national newspaper reviews suggested that there should have been some programme notes about the 'story'. While this might work for some people, my stance is that the audience are always free to do some pre-reading if they so wish. For me, in the case of this particular production, not knowing the story in advance actually enhanced the whole experience.
I am now so intrigued by the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh that I have ordered a copy of it in English translation. As for this magnificent production, I would go and see Outwitting the Devil again in a heartbeat, any day, any time.
Blog copyright Barbara Grehs
Published on 30 November 2021
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