Not all stories are equal, but add a couple of terrific performances, throw in a kick-ass band to help underscore the action, and you can turn any tale, real or imagined, into a compelling piece of theatre. Such is the case with the TRIA Theatre / Soulpepper co-production of King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild.
The theatre-music hybrid, now on stage at Neptune’s Scotiabank Theatre as part of the 2024 Prismatic Arts Festival, is a daring mix of three stories: one written in the late 2nd millennium BC and two considerably more modern.
Meeting by chance at a Toronto coffee shop, Ahmed (Ahmed Moneka) and Jesse (Jesse LaVercombe) quickly bond as the two immigrants grapple with very different lives.
A Muslim, Ahmed has just received his Canadian permanent residence after escaping persecution in Iraq and is on the brink of fatherhood. A Jew, Jesse is a struggling American actor living in Canada whose big Hollywood break appears to be just around the corner.
As the two trade insights into their lived experience, with the aid of a magic mushroom at one point, they weave their stories with the Mesopotamian story of King Gilgamesh and his friendship with Enkidu, a creation of the gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing the people of Uruk.
Under Seth Bockley’s direction, who co-created the show with Moneka and LaVercombe, the multiple storylines are presented with clarity, helped immensely by his two actors and Lorenzo Savoini’s lighting design.
However, finding the connection between the men’s stories and that of Gilgamesh is less clear, especially considering one of the major themes in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the inevitability of death. Conversely, and more connective to the two men’s modern stories, King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild deals with our human quest for meaning and purpose. It also mirrors the bromance between Ahmed and Jesse to that of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
Emphasizing the action and providing an additional layer to the proceedings, the Moneka Arabic Jazz band – Demetrios Petsalakis, Waleed Abdulhamid, Mary Fay Coady, Selcuk Suna, Max Senitt – creates a stunning score. Joined by Moneka with vocals and LaVercombe on piano occasionally, the result is an exhilarating soundscape with an often cinematic quality. And while much of the sung music is in Arabic, it is nonetheless captivating, and as we are reminded at one point in the show, though we may not understand the words, we agree when Jesse says, “I didn’t understand, but I felt it.”
Thanks to its infusion of music and terrific performances from its two actors, King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild is a compelling and unique blend of theatre and music that would arguably only have been as successful with both.
King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild, created by Ahmed Moneka, Jesse LaVercombe and Seth Bockley. Directed by Seth Bockley. A TRIA Theatre production produced in association with Soulpepper. Presented by Neptune Theatre as part of the 2024 Prismatic Arts Festival. On stage at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Stage (1593 Argyle St, Halifax) until October 6. Visit primsaticfestival.com for tickets and information.