The artist ensemble Opera Lab Berlin presents “ODYSSEY: Dead Men Die”, a multimedia music theatre spectacle in the former silent movie theatre, “Theater im Delphi” (30/31 Jan. + 02/03/04 Feb. 2020). After nearly three thousand years of travel, Odysseus’ journey comes to an end – as a movie star in the premiere of the new Odyssey blockbuster. The triumphant return of the ancient hero, however, takes a turn for the unexpected. The protagonists, fifteen singers and musicians, as well as the audience go on an unforeseen odyssey through the old Berlin film palace and dive behind the scenes of this heroic epic.
Odysseus meets his “widow” Penelope, a single mother who has almost forgotten him, and his disoriented, half-orphaned son Telemachus, who eagerly awaits him. But the world is out of joint. Instead of a happy family reunion, the war hero is put on trial. Under the judgement of Penelope, he is blamed for the crimes of the patriarchal order and punished as a representative of stereotypical masculinity by the sirens, Calypso, Circe and Nausikaa.
Telemachus does not play along, though. The angry young man seeks his place in a crisis-ridden time and only finds answer in the blind glorification of paternal heroism and the attempt to violently restore the “good old order” of people, nation and family. Contradicting ideologies collide in “ODYSSEY: Dead Men Die” …
Based on Homer’s “Odyssey”, James Joyce’s “Ulysses” as well as original texts, composed by Evan Gardner and staged by Michael Höppner, the artist collective Opera Lab Berlin embarks on an apocalyptic journey through cinematic, theatrical and musical worlds. The movie theatre becomes a magic box in which the ghosts of the past confront us from the future.
Opera Lab Berlin: “ODYSSEY: Dead Men Die”
30th January, 31st January & 2nd to 4th February 2020 | Doors 19:00 CET | Starts 20:00 CET
Theater im Delphi | Gustav-Adolf-Str. 2 | 13086 Berlin
Theater im Delphi | Event @ Facebook
Photo © Martin Miotk
