Pytheas Travels | Hypercomf & Maja S. K. Ratkje with Ergon Ensemble

Dates

Prices

5 — 24 €

Location

Athens, Onassis Stegi

Time & Date

Day
Time
Venue
Day
Friday - Sunday
Time
20:30
Venue
Main Stage

Tickets

Type
Price
Full price
24 €
Reduced, Friend & Groups 5-9 people
19 €
Groups 10+ people
17 €
Neighborhood residents
7 €
Unemployed, People with disabilities
5 €
Companions
10 €

Onassis Stegi Friends presale: from Thursday, 21 September 2023, 17:00

General presale: from Friday, 22 September, 17:00

Four musicians, a video with landscapes of Tinos and Northern Norway, a party on board, and AI developers meeting in the belly of a whale. A surrealistic cruise from the Mediterranean to the northern countries, with the journey of Pytheas the Greek—the unassailable explorer of antiquity—in its very center.

Performance photos

    Image 1 / 4

    Photo: Andreas Simopoulos

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    Photo: Andreas Simopoulos

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    Photo: Andreas Simopoulos

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    Photo: Andreas Simopoulos

Do you find it hard to float through life? Do you feel tangled in the nets of your daily routine and seek escape? Embark on one of the state-of-the-art vessels of Pytheas Travels cruise fleet and become part of the most oceanic experience of your life. A musical cruise with four musicians of the Ergon Ensemble as passengers and a video screening as a backdrop: a compilation of animation, live shootings on board and in various locations in Tinos and Northern Norway, as well as green screen footage, all inspired by the sea element. The immersive experience of “Pytheas Travels” includes furthermore many surrealistic touches that involve opulent parties, a great wildfire, as well as AI developers that meet in the belly of the whale. Shall we hop on board?

The title of the performance refers to the historical journey of Pytheas the Greek—the Columbus of antiquity—where in 325 BC sailed north from Marseilles to a place he called Ultima Thule, the mythical island, to reach the “frozen seas.” Unable to extend the exploration of the mythical lands of Northern Europe, Pytheas returned to the Mediterranean to document his legendary journey in a manuscript titled “On the Ocean” which vanished forever in the great fire of the Library of Alexandria.

“Pytheas Travels” is a staged audiovisual simulation of the experience of being on board a passenger vessel, traveling from the Mediterranean to the Northern Seas. It is a maritime story, an imaginary journey, and a critical insight into the mass tourism industry and its consequences on environmental, cultural, and societal structures.

The music score is courtesy of pioneering Norwegian composer and performer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, for whom in 2015 the Financial Times noted that “she brings a feral disregard for conventional form, combined with an extravagant imagination, linking it all to a fascination with the human voice and its communicative possibilities. Her works are dramatic, engaging, and wildly diverse.”

A maritime story, an imaginary journey, and a critical insight into the mass tourism industry and its consequences on environmental, cultural, and societal structures.

Credits

  • Created by

    Hypercomf and Maja S. K. Ratkje

  • Art Direction & Film Direction

    Hypercomf

  • Music Composition

    Maja S. K. Ratkje

  • Greek Performing Ensemble

    Ergon Ensemble: Manos Ventouras (French horn), Andreas-Rolandos Theodorou (bass trombone), Konstantinos Panagiotidis (violin), Dimitris Travlos (cello)

  • Norwegian Performing
    Ensemble

    Tøyen Fil og Klafferi: Hanne Jones Rekdal (flute/bassoon), Elena Perales Andreu (bass clarinet), Eira Bjørnstad Foss (violin), Marianne Baudouin Lie (cello), Tove Margrethe Erikstad (cello/onstage Oslo)

  • Other Musicians in Recording

    Amund Sjølie Sveen, Craig Snowden, Richard Burrows

  • Speakerphone Narrator Voice

    Guri Glans

  • Norwegian Pytheas Narrator Voice (Norwegian version)

    Torbjørn Davidsen

  • Greek Pytheas Narrator Voice (Greek version)

    Kostas Berikopoulos

  • Musicians’ Recording, Athens

    Jacopo Fokas at Antart Studios

  • Greek Narrator Recording Studio, Athens

    Bounce Music Productions / Nasos Stergiou

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    .

  • Animation, Modelmaking &
    VFX by

    Out . There

  • Animation Direction

    Fokion Xenos

  • VFX Direction & Production Design

    Stefanos Pletsis

  • Lead VFX Art & Modelmaking

    Christos Panagiotou

  • VFX Assistance

    Yiannis Rallis

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    .

  • Shrimp Puppetmaking

    Stathis Markopoulos

  • Art Department Assistance

    Christos Fousekis, Nikos Mpourloukas & Dimitra Chasiaki

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    .

  • Director of Photography

    Alexandros Tiniakos

  • Colorist

    Dimitris Karteris

  • Make-up

    Sissi Petropoulou

  • Model

    Iasonas Laios

  • Live Sound, Video & Light Synchronization

    Trond Kjelsås

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    .

  • Stage Design Credits

    .

  • Light Design

    Eliza Alexandropoulou

  • Costume Design

    Lita Kokkonari

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    .

  • Onassis Stegi Credits

    .

  • Senior Consultant

    Christos Carras

  • Transmissions Program general coordination

    Theodora Vougiouka, Vera Petmeza

  • Head of Productions

    Vassilis Panagiotakopoulos

  • Producer

    Despoina Sifniadou

“Pytheas Travels” is a co-production of Onassis Stegi and Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival (Norway), in the framework of the TRANSMISSIONS project, funded by the EEA Grants and the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2014-2021.

Sponsors/Partners

  • Within the framework

  • With the support