VISIT TO GERONTION
An appalling-looking man enters and looks at himself in a mirror.
”Why do you look at yourself in the glass,
since the sight of your reflection can only be painful to you?”
The appalling-looking man replies:
”Sir, according to the immortal principles of ´89,
all men are equal before the law;
therefore I have the right to look at myself in the glass;
with pleasure or pain, that is an entirely personal matter.”
In respect to common sense, I was certainly right;
but from the point of view of the law, he was not wrong.
Gerontion poses questions regarding sacrifice and humiliation, confronting its audience with a proposal of different moral judgments. The boundary determining just from unjust has through a subtle reduction of time proposed a composition of terror – but also beauty.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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 Artuad, Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio 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.
Iraqi Bodies have been recognized for their works such as Unidentified, Vowels, Gerontion and Possessed. Each piece is a unique process depending on the themes explored and involves performers, set designers and musicians from all corners of the earth.
Iraqi Bodies 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, among other places. Iraqi Bodies are based in Gothenburg, Sweden, led by Artistic directors Anmar Taha and Josephine Gray
Anmar TAHA
Artistic director of Iraqi Bodies. Graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts – Theater Department
in Baghdad Iraq 2005. He is an experienced director, actor and light designer who have
brought his remarkable visions to life for the past 11 years.
Josephine GRAY
Artistic director of Iraqi Bodies. Graduate of Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq
in Paris, France. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. from the Institute of Philosophy, Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. She acts, writes and makes masks.
Choreography: Anmar Taha
Masks: Josephine Gray
Production: Iraqi Bodies
With support from:
The Swedish Arts Council and The Gothenburg Culture Committee