Trajal Harrell: Maggie the Cat

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 center stage in his magnetic new dance work, a dazzling and provocative fusion of high art and pop culture that premiered at Manchester International Festival 2019. 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.

The American choreographer and dancer Trajal Harrellis one of the most important choreographers of his generation. He rose to fame thanks to a series of works in which he combined a speculative view of history and canon with the idiom of post-modern dance, augmented with multiple elements from contemporary pop culture. In 2016 Harrell completed an Annenberg Residency at MoMA, where he focused on the work of the Japanese founder of Butoh dance, Tatsumi Hijikata. In 2018, Harrell was named ‘Dancer of the Year’ by the renowned German magazine Tanz. He lives and works in between Athens, Greece; Zurich, Switzerland; and Georgia, USA. Currently he is the founding director of The Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble.

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.