Outwitting The Devil – Akram Khan Company/Sadler’s Wells, London

A review of Outwitting the Devil, part of Carnival of Shadows by Akram Khan Company now on at Sadler’s Wells. What an impressive feat of choreography, and a powerful interpretation of an ancient story.

Akram Kham Company at Sadler’s Wells

It is lovely to be back at Sadler’s Wells. This is a venue that I had most definitely been neglecting, until the pandemic made me rethink my priorities when it comes to London’s cultural offerings. The beauty of venues which do not have an in house company, be it theatre, opera or dance, is that there is real variety in the programming. In the case of Sadler’s Wells, I have seen the English National Ballet, Rambert, and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures this year alone. And this week I had the opportunity to add Akram Khan Company to this list.

Akram Khan is a dancer and choreographer with a solid pedigree and long association with Sadler’s Wells as an Associate Artist. Akram Khan Company dates back more than 20 years, to a conversation about his dance inspiration, Pina Bausch. The Company is known for solo and group works with roots in both classical South Asian and contemporary dance traditions. Khan also draws frequently on half-remembered stories. This can include stories of Asian soldiers during WWI, or, as here, ancient works of literature like the Mahabharata or Epic of Gilgamesh.

A point I have seen in other reviews of Akram Khan Company, however, and which rings true from my experience this week, is that narrative storytelling is not what this company is about. Khan is, according to Laura Cappelle, “…more preoccupied with kinetic impressions than actual narrative.” This made my experience a little closer to seeing The Dante Project at the Royal Opera House, rather than the last thing I saw at Sadler’s Wells, Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell. By this I mean a real sense of ‘I don’t quite follow what’s going on – but I love it!’

Outwitting The Devil

Although this is one of three works presented by Akram Khan Company as part of Carnival of Shadows, Outwitting the Devil is a stand-alone piece. It’s relatively short, at 1 hour 20 minutes, but intense. I don’t need to go into the whole background of The Epic of Gilgamesh for you to appreciate it; suffice it to say that the epic is a Mesopotamian text, and Khan has here extracted a specific story. Gilgamesh destroys an ancient cedar forest and kills its guardian, and the gods punish him for it. This sets up a correlation with our current Climate Emergency, and also has scope for some interesting elements of choreography.

Outwitting the Devil is a work for six dancers. There is real diversity here – of ages, of backgrounds, of dance educations. Two of the dancers play Gilgamesh – a younger figure in the cedar forest, and an older Gilgamesh, looking back on his actions. I believe I saw Mythili Prakash in the role of the goddess Ishtar, but cast lists are another thing Akram Khan Company aren’t big on, so it’s hard to say. In any event, all of the dancers were 100% committed, expressive and mesmerising. I was astonished, as I often am when I see dance at this level, at just what the human body can do. Particularly in interpreting this story, where the characters are often more than human. It’s so impressive to watch.

Also impressive is how seamlessly South Asian dance traditions can incorporate themselves into a contemporary work. We can see, or at least sense, this synergy; in the positioning of a hand, the movement of a foot. But it feels no less contemporary for including these traditions, in the sense that all dancers are drawing on some form of classical training or another.

Final Thoughts

After seeing Outwitting the Devil, I’m just sad not to also have tickets to XENOS or Chotto Xenos, the other works in Carnival of Shadows. You can absolutely go to them, and can check for tickets here. It’s just that the Christmas season is upon me and, alas, I have no free evenings to get back to Sadler’s Wells.

To get back to Outwitting the Devil, however, I really enjoyed it overall. I don’t mind some vague storytelling now and again if the work is interesting, and this one is so arresting and impressive that the plot didn’t really matter. The lighting, by Aideen Malone, and immersive, chest-rumbling music by Vincenzo Lamagna, also contribute to the experience. The stage feels caravaggesque, all spotlights and dark shadows. Perfect for an ancient, mythical forest.

I would happily go and see many more works by Akram Khan Company. This experience has widened my horizons in terms of what contemporary dance can be. There is a feeling of awe that will stay with me for some time; what more can I ask for really in an evening out? You can check here to see if Akram Khan Company will be performing anywhere near you in the near future.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Outwitting the Devil on until 27 November, Carnival of Shadows until 4 December