Date: 23 Jan 2022 | 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Online (via Zoom)
Direction: Anmar Taha and Josephine Gray Iraqi Bodies, Sweden
On pity, a film poem:
Iraqi Bodies presents the cinematic experience pity, a film poem. Over the course of 23 minutes the viewer is taken on a journey that explores the themes and characters from their pentalogy PITY.
pity, a film poem is an ode to image-making
The medium of film has always been present in the oeuvre of Iraqi Bodies. Never on stage, but as an art form existing alongside the live performances. Alternative universes of the multitude of scenes that are generated in any creative act.
pity, a film poem has been created by Iraqi Bodies’ artistic directors Anmar Taha and Josephine Gray, with the invaluable work of our cast.
The work of Iraqi Bodies explores the link between movement and gesture, between dance and physical theater. The development of their artistic practice has been deeply influencedby the likes of Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski, Jacques Copeau and Tatsumi Hijikata while retaining a constant dialogue with thinkers, writers and poets such as Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Charles Baudelaire, Le Comte de Lautréamont, William Shakespeare, Henri Bergson, Krishnamurti and many others.
The poetics of awareness is an absolute given in their continued search for a radical scenic language.
Iraqi Bodies are based in Gothenburg, Sweden, led by Artistic Directors Anmar Taha and Josephine Gray.
Their work has been presented at:
Dansens Hus, Pustervik, Atalante, Inkonst,Teater Trixter, Stora Teatern, Göteborgs Stadsteater, GBG Mime Fest, SPIRA, Regionteater Väst, Göteborgs Dans -och Teater festival, Aerowaves, Kalamata Dance Festival, Dance Days Chania, BITEF, Costante Cambiamento Festival, Fadjr International Theatre Festival, Cairo Experimental Theatre Festival, Carthage Puppet Theatre Days, Carthage Theatre Festival, Tanztendenzen, BOZAR, Tunnelhuis Antwerpen, Monty Antwerpen, Nitra International Theatre Festival and more.
Anmar TAHA
Artistic director of Iraqi Bodies. Graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts–Theater Department in Baghdad Iraq 2005. He holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Contemporary Performing Arts from the University of Gothenburg. An experienced director, actor and light designer, he has brought his remarkable visions to life for the past 12 years. His works have been presented in festivals around Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Josephine GRAY
Artistic director of Iraqi Bodies. She has been performing on-stage for more than fifteen years while developing the dramaturgy and philosophy of Iraqi Bodies. She is a graduate of L’École Internationale de Théâtre de Jacques Lecoq in Paris and has two post-graduate degrees in Philosophy (KU Leuven) and English Literature (University of Sheffield). She is currently co-editing the anthology “Second Nature: Comic Performance and Philosophy” together with Lisa Trahair forthcoming 2022 with Rowman and Littlefield International, London, UK.