Lights come up on a black box stage, littered with an assortment of plants. The set consists of a table on a rug in the centre of the stage and a piano on the far right. It’s lit by lamplight and a dim projection reminiscent of an orange summer sunset on the back wall, save for a few spotlights. The air is lively with music as the show kicks off with a song performed by a five-piece band. Think: sitting in a jazz bar on a warm August evening at dusk.
Created by Ahmed Moneka, Jesse Lavercombe and Seth Bockley, King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild is described as a “hybrid music-theatre production”. A fresh take on an age-old tale, it brings the oldest story ever recorded into the contemporary world. Loosely based on Moneka’s real experiences as an actor and refugee, the play follows the characters of Ahmed and Jesse, who meet in a coffee shop in Canada. Ahmed was raised Muslim in Baghdad, while Jesse was raised Jewish in America. Despite their different upbringings, they quickly forge a bond. After taking shrooms together, Ahmed tells Jesse about The Epic of Gilgamesh. Together the epic takes them on a journey in their own lives. The play explores themes of love, death, sex, fatherhood, and most centrally, the importance of human relationships. The two-man epic seamlessly weaves two tales of friendship, one modern and one ancient.
Composed of just two actors, they both masterfully switch between characters throughout the performance: Ahmed to Gilgamesh and Jesse to Enkidu. The contrast between the average, modern-day characters and the larger-than-life, exaggerated Gilgamesh and Enkidu gave both actors a chance to show their chops. LaVercombe’s physicality as Enkidu particularly stuck out and was a huge highlight of the show.
They are accompanied by a band made up of Demetrios Petsalakis, Waleed Abdulhamid, Max Senitt, Suna Selcuk, and Mary Fay Coady. The music is written by Ahmed’s own band, Moneka Arabic Jazz. The use of music was completely natural, even soundtrack-esque at some points. The breaking of the fourth wall between the band and the actors felt reminiscent of the muses from ancient Greek tales. The movement and minimal, imaginative set made it feel as though they were taking the audience along on a quest through the forest with Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
We were lucky enough to engage in a talkback session after the performance with the cast and crew. Starting in 2018, King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild has been an ever-evolving labour of love for the creators. Their companionship and respect for each other not only as artists, but as friends, shined throughout the talkback. It became obvious how their real-life friendship and experiences translate wonderfully to the stage and enhance every aspect of the show.
