Outwitting the Devil is the first modern dance work choreographed by Akram Khan, the "first legend of the 21st-century dance world", after retiring from his career as a dancer. It is entirely performed by members of his dance company. It is inspired by 12 broken clay tablets that together make up one of the oldest and most significant literary works in the world, the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. The work describes Gilgamesh's memories of his youthful passions on his deathbed in old age and is a story of remembrance, repentance, and a puzzle pieced together in the darkness, containing the story of who we once were and who we might become again.