Ithaca – Our Odyssey 1

The sea of Ithaca floods the Onassis Stegi Main Stage. Ulysses, Penelope and Calypso float on its waters. An ancient myth or a news flash about the refugee crisis?

The Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy turns a magnifying glass on contemporary reality. She creates a parallel universe – present and past in one – reflecting the odyssey of homecoming.

Through her multimedia work for the Odéon-Théâtre and the Comédie-Française, she has captivated the French audience. Her work, “Ithaca”, is a combination of stage-work, digital and cinematic depiction.

Christiane Jatahy sets her Ithaca on two islands, Calypso’s Ogygia and Penelope’s Ithaca and the sea between them, the water becoming a travel memorial. Like a siren, Jatahy sings the eternal song about the pain of exile, the longing for a homeland and love that survives in times of waiting.

"Ithaca, our Odyssey" is a coproduction of the Onassis Stegi and the Odeon Theatre de l' Europe. It is the first part of an ambitious diptych titled Our Odyssey, covering all attempts to return to the birthplace/cradle. Jatahy uses three Brazilian actresses for the part of Penelope and three actors for Odysseus.

After "Ithaca" comes "New Ithaca", merging myth and document. Ulysses’ return to Ithaca and the restitution of his relationship with Penelope includes material from refugee stories.

"New Ithaca" will include filming and research in Greece, Palestine, Lebanon, South Africa, Turkey, Syria and Brazil.

“It holds up Homer’s historical fiction as a magnifying glass on our time, its wars, its movements of departure and arrival, on every attempt to reach one's home, as literally as metaphorically” says Christiane Jatahy describing the project.

Jatahy’s performance comes after the "Odyssey" of her compatriot Leonardo Moreira, a production performed as part of the Onassis Stegi Fast Forward Festival 5.