With more than 74,000 verses, long prose passages and 1.8 million words, the Mahabharata is arguably one of the longest poems in the world.

It is one of two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and has been brought vividly to life in this world premiere production by multi-award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney and Olivier Award winning writer Stephen Clark.

Featuring an international ensemble of 27 dancers, Mahabharata, which dates back to 300BC, tells the story of Draupadi, a woman who defies her destiny to become wife to five brothers and who, thanks to a game of dice, becomes the catalyst for the world's most terrible war.

The performance explores the mythic world of bloody conflict and beauty, which has been reworked with a contemporary sensibility.

With kings, princes, sages, demons, gods and goddesses this is an exhilarating synthesis of dance, visual magic, puppetry and intricate music.

It also brings together design by Angela Davies, puppetry and object animation by the country's leading puppetry director Sue Buckmaster as well as cutting-edge video animation and projection by Lorna Heavey.

Programmer Guy Morley says: "Mahabharata is a really huge Indian work which is very important to Hindu culture. It's an epic story to tell and it will be really interesting to see how the performers rise to the challenge."

  • Starts: 7.45pm, matinees 2.30pm Tickets £16-£23 Post-show talk, Wed May 23, free to ticket holders
  • Promoted by Kalapi Jani for Gita Productions and Sadler's Wells Theatre in association with Theatre Royal Brighton