Paradise Lost: Sharif Afifi stars in one-man take on epic poem by John Milton

Olivier award-nominated performer Sharif Afifi is set to take the stage at Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) for a one-man take on the epic poem, Paradise Lost.

A decade on from its first premiere, dance theatre company Lost Dog will return to BAC this month with their staging of John Milton’s iconic poem.

Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me), will run at the theatre in Lavender Hill, from March 18 until April 5.

A decade on from its first premiere at BAC in 2015, artistic director Ben Duke’s witty and sharp production is set to take on the unthinkable once again.

He will reduce Mr Milton’s Paradise Lost to 75 minutes of solo dance theatre.

Mr Duke took centre stage of this one-man-show during its premiere run, performing all over the UK to the delight of audiences and critics.

Along the way he won a clutch of awards, including the 2016 National Dance Critics Award for Outstanding Male Performance and the 2017 Rural Touring Award for the most innovative and inspirational show.

Now actor Sharif Afifi will take over the task of galloping through the story of creation in just over an hour.

He will take on a breadth of characters for the role, transitioning between God, himself, Adam and Eve, Lucifer and more as he crosses the stage.

He said: “I’m so excited to be a part of Paradise Lost.

“It’s themes of creation and surrendering to all the struggles that come with that feel incredibly timely.

“It’s such a full circle moment for me personally to be revisiting dance in this way while getting to tackle a new challenge as an actor.  

“What better way to do that than on your own on a stage…with nowhere to hide!”

To find tickets, visit:  https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/paradise-lost/

Pictured top: Sharif Afifi in Paradise Lost (Picture: Zoe Manders)