Ahmed Moneka & Jesse Lavercombe. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
I didn’t know until today that the oldest story ever recorded is the Epic of King Gilgamesh from ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), with the first surviving version dating back to the 18th Century BCE. Scholars believe that this story influenced Homer, as well as the creators of the Old Testament, and it is considered a foundational work in both religion and the enduring tradition of the hero’s epic journey.
In TRIA Theatre’s King Gilgamesh & The Man of the Wild, which is produced in association with Soulpepper Theatre and co-presented with Prismatic Arts Festival at Neptune Theatre, Jesse, a white Jewish young man from Minnesota is similarly introduced to this story by Ahmed, a Muslim man from Bagdad, while both find themselves a bit in limbo at a café in Toronto. When we are first introduced to King Gilgamesh we learn that he is a tyrannical ruler, and also a demigod, but we also are told that he is lonely. Jesse and Ahmed, both isolated from their families, are lonely too. The goddess Aruru creates Enkidu, an “innocent beast,” who becomes domesticated by Shamhat, the sacred prostitute, and Enkidu becomes human, but also loses his innocence. He becomes Gilgamesh’s best friend and the two set off on adventures together. Enkidu cures Gilgamesh of his loneliness, but is later (SPOILER) killed during one of their escapades, which sends Gilgamesh on a more existential quest.
Meanwhile in Toronto Jesse and Ahmed spend a significant amount of time throughout one night together in the coffee shop getting to know intimate details of each other’s lives, and with Jesse becoming acquainted with this story of Gilgamesh. Then, just as quickly as they connect, Jesse finds out that he has to leave to film a blockbuster movie in Los Angeles, and it seems like, perhaps, that is where their stories together will end. In some ways Jesse and Ahmed have more to potentially alienate them from one another than Gilgamesh and Enkidu, with Ahmed being an Iraqi Muslim and Jesse being an American Jew. This storyline, collectively created by Jesse Lavercombe, Ahmed Moneka, and Seth Bockley, is partially the true story of how Moneka came to Canada as a refugee and ended up fronting a successful band (Moneka Arabic Jazz) with musicians hailing from five different countries.
Ahmed and Jesse joke that the second half of The Epic of King Gilgamesh is a wild ride, and so too is the second half of Ahmed and Jesse’s storyline, and I think that is intentionally the fun of it. We suspend our disbelief quite naturally when presented with myths, so too are we encouraged to embrace the silly and the strange for the “real life” characters too. In fact, what makes the entire play so enjoyable and accessible is the feeling of playfulness that Lavercombe and Moneka have with one another, especially with the ways that they physically use their bodies to bring both stories to life.
Ahmed and Jesse connect with one another ardently, and that is the connection between them and Gilgamesh and Enkidu. It is a platonic relationship, but with deep intimacy, and you can see how uncomfortable this makes Jesse, who seems to not be used to feeling this way about another man, and not really knowing how to process these emotions. The easiest way for him to channel how he feels is through music- exceptional jazz piano playing, and Ahmed continually finds ways to mix his Arabic music in with the American jazz to create something that is uniquely their own, and also, in a way, emblematic of Toronto.
Behind them is a band made up of musicians from all over the world: Waleed Abdulhamid (bass), Demetri Petsalakis (musical director, guitar, oud), Selcuk Suna (clarinet/sax), Max Senitt (drums), and Mary Fay Coady (violin). While Coady, of course, is from Halifax, the rest of the band represent a multicultural mix of backgrounds, and they are all based in Toronto. The music, influenced by Arabic melodies and stories and African rhythms that celebrate Moneka’s Afro-Arabic heritage, with some jazz and blues influences as well, is a strong heartbeat of the show. Mary Fay Coady, one of Halifax’s most lauded actors, is an accomplished violin player, and I feel like through her work both here and in Old Stock she is reminding especially those of us here with Scotch ancestry that our cultural music too is connected in a profound and visceral way to music from around the world.
Ahmed mentions growing up in Baghdad amongst the arts scene there, where he and his father were both theatre actors. He roots us in memory there in a theatre like the one we are all currently sitting in, except in Iraq around the time of the American invasion. There is a reason why, of course, you never hear about Iraqi theatres and Iraqi actors, and their thriving arts scene, their libraries and bookstores, and the oldest university in the world, in the mainstream news segment on CNN or even on the CBC. God forbid you start to genuinely identify with the people the Americans are bombing. You never hear about Palestine’s art scenes either. Of course a story about a nice Jewish American and a sweet Muslim Iraqi becoming besties in Toronto isn’t going to change minds and solve the crisis consuming the Middle East tonight, and we all know Canada is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but King Gilgamesh & The Man of the Wild does celebrate the very best version of Toronto, the aspiration, I think, of Toronto, and I think by proxy, the aspiration of much of the country- to be a place where disparate stories converge, and music mingles, and we learn from each other, and we remember how inherently connected we all are, and always have been, even eighteen centuries before Christ.
Unfortunately, we clearly need as many reminders of this as we can get.
TRIA Theatre’s King Gilgamesh & The Man of the Wild, produced in association with Soulpepper Theatre and co-presented with Prismatic Arts Festival, plays at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Stage (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) until October 6th, 2024. Shows run Wednesday to Saturday at 7:30pm and 2:00pm on Sunday. Tickets range in price from $25.00 to $65.00 depending on seating, and all shows are close to sold out so book yours today by visiting this website, calling the Box Office at 902.429.7070 or visiting 1589 Argyle Street in person.
Please Note This Show is Recommended for Audiences 12+. Neptune Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchair users. For more Accessibility Information Click Here.
