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Maggie the Cat

From the «PORCA MISERIA» trilogy
Choreography: Trajal Harrell


Guest Performance by Trajal Harrell / Zürich Dance Ensemble

Troubled but tough, unloved but unbowed, Maggie the Cat is the captivating focus of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Now, acclaimed American choreographer Trajal Harrell places Maggie centre stage in his magnetic new dance work, a dazzling and provocative fusion of high art and pop culture premiered at MIF19.

Set to a soundtrack ranging from electro and pop to classical music, Maggie the Cat addresses power, gender, rejection and inclusion through the prism of one of modern theatre’s most celebrated characters. Influenced by everything from ancient Greek theatre to the Harlem voguing underground, it’s challenging, tragic, entertaining – and ultimately joyous.

Maggie the Cat, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2019, is part of Trajal Harrell's trilogy Porca Miseria, which is inspired by women who have had to navigate treacherous waters to assert themselves. The other two plays are O Medea (2019 at the Onassis Centre in Athens) and Deathbed, which premiered at Schauspielhaus Zürich in 2022.

Cast and Team

Trajal
Harrell
Christopher
Matthews
Perle
Palombe
Rob
Fordeyn
Stephanie
Amurao
Songhay
Toldon
Ondrej
Vidlar
Maria
Ferreira Silva
Tiran
Willemse
Jeremy
Nedd
Frances
Chiaverini
Abwechselnde Besetzung
/In alternating cast
Challenge
Gumbodete
Nasheeka
Nedsreal
Vânia Doutel
Vaz
Direction, Choreography, Costume Design & Sound Design
Set Design
Erik Flatmo
Trajal Harrell
Lighting Design
Stéfane Perraud
Director’s Assistant
Lennart Boyd Schürmann
Jakob Wittkowsky
Dramaturgy
Sound
Friedo Günther
technical management
Steve Wald
Distribution
ART HAPPENS
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Produced by Manchester International Festival

Maggie the Cat forms one part of a trilogy, PORCA MISERIA, commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Schauspielhaus Zürich, ONASSIS STEGI, Kampnagel (Hamburg), Holland Festival, the Barbican and Dance Umbrella, NYU Skirball, Berliner Festspiele and The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Premiered during MIF19 in July 2019.

Gallery

Maggie the Cat © Orpheas Emirzas

Maggie the Cat © Orpheas Emirzas

Maggie the Cat © Orpheas Emirzas

Trailer

Trajal Harrell on MAGGIE THE CAT © Manchester International Festival

Press

Applause doesn’t seem quite enough; it’s a thrilling work, both free and beautifully structured, profound and exhilarating. It’s part of a trilogy that will come back to Manchester in 2021 and I can’t wait to see the rest.

The Observer

Masterly timing and aesthetic flair. Through rhythmic juxtaposition and perfect pacing, he creates alternating states of chaos and calm, of joy and excitement, bewilderment and bathos. They are all Maggie, and they are all superb.

New York Times

A joyous and victorious act of playfulness.

Manchester Evening News
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