PETER PETKOVSEK

Power. Kingdoms. Lust. And the Will of one (anti-) hero who wants to do everything he can to conquer the one enemy he cannot beat: Death. Based on the epic from Mesopotamia, one of the oldest pieces of literature known to us today, Gilgamesh - A Musical Epic is a story of how Man went from Animal to God, told in the form of an epic rock opera with a live band. We bring together the rocky deserts of the mythical Middle East and the electrifying energy of Rock to challenge the gods themselves.

Created by Ian Wehrle (Music) and Peter Petkovsek (Book, Lyrics), this new musical follows the Mesopotamian hero-king Gilgamesh on his quest to become immortal. Gilgamesh was an historic Sumerian king who hovered on the border between history and myth. Soon after his death his feats were turned into legend and a millenium later amassed into the standard (Babylonian) version of the Epic as we know it today.

As the story goes, Gilgamesh was a tyrant to his people. In response, the gods create an equal by the name of Enkidu. Instead of defeating Gilgamesh, they become friends and together slay the monster Humbaba and the Heavenly Bull. When Gilgamesh rejects the advances of the goddess Ishtar, Enkidu dies as punishment, and the king feels the fear of death for the first time. He sets out on a long quest which brings him to the end of the world where Uta-Napishti, the survivor of the Great Flood lives. In the end, Gilgamesh must face his own mortality and learn to be a Man.