Iraqi Bodies premieres their new creation – the second part of their pentalogy PITY – focusing on the eponymous character of Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’.

We meet a desolate man stranded in the desert who has just lost everything worth living for. During one night he recounts his story from glory to damnation. By examining the enhancing or debilitating emotion of pity we are able to discuss this emotion with a backdrop of history carrying us into the contemporary world of today.

PITY examines the meaning and perhaps meaninglessness of pity through the lens of Shakespeare’s Othello as a tragedy which conforms superbly with the Aristotelian criteria of a Tragedy. The pentalogy takes the shape of five performances focusing on the traits of the characters Iago, Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Brabantio.

www.iraqibodies.com

The work of Iraqi Bodies explores the link between movement and gesture, between dance and physical theater. Their artistic practice is deeply anchored in the theory and method of Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski, Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and others. By letting the body speak of the trauma of life and the predicament of man their work wishes to transcend any human differences and instead create scenes to show a reality shared by all. A poetic reality that finds the light in the deepest darkness of life.

They have performed at festivals in Denmark, France, Belgium, Holland, South Korea, Italy, Greece, Spain, Serbia, Iran, Lebanon, (Short Stories, Tanec Praha, Kalamata International Dance Festival, Madrid en Danza, BIPOD, Fadjr International Theater Festival, Attakalari India Biennal, LEYMOUN, Festivale Constante Cambiamento) just to mention a few. In Sweden their performances have been invited to perform at Dansens Hus Stockholm, Inkonst Malmö, Vara Konserthus, Pustervik Teater, Atalante, among other places.

Iraqi Bodies are based in Gothenburg, Sweden, led by Artistic Directors Anmar Taha and Josephine Gray

DIRECTION/CHOREOGRAPHY: Anmar Taha
DRAMATURGY: Josephine Gray
PERFORMERS: Anmar Taha, Josephine Gray, a.o.
STAGE DESIGN: Anmar Taha
LIGHT DESIGN: Anmar Taha
PUPPETS/MASK: Josephine Gray
MUSIC DIRECTION: Josephine Gray
COSTUME DESIGN: Iraqi Bodies
PRODUCTION: Iraqi Bodies
Developed in residency at STORA TEATERN/DANSCENTRUM VÄST

SUPPORTED BY: The Swedish Arts Council, The City of Gothenburg, The Region of West Sweden