Akram Khan’s work turns a mirror to humanity. With a foot in both Western and non-Western canons, the choreographer of Bangladeshi descent speaks with a sense of universal urgency. His latest work, Outwitting the Devil, is no less exigent. Based on ancient myth, but unconcerned with constraints of time, it’s a sobering comment on the power we wield against those around us.

The work’s inspiration comes from a recently discovered fragment of the 12 broken clay tablets that tell the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Khan has decided to focus on a particularly violent chapter in the young king’s life, as recalled by his older, dying self. Gilgamesh – now confronted with his own mortality – looks back on his exploits: domesticating a wild man, destroying the Cedar Forest, and surviving retribution from the Gods.

Outwitting the Devil. Photograph © Jean Louis Fernandez

Although Khan himself does not appear (he recently retired from dancing), his masterful storytelling remains vivid, amplified through an exceptionally skilled and diverse cast. The older Gilgamesh (Dominique Petit), navigates his way through hundreds of fragmented ruins (set design by Tom Scutt) and the ensemble of characters they enclose. Immersed in...