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Odysseus has freed himself from the sirens and their seductive singing, and returns to house and home. The Ithaca he comes back to is hardly mythical, however, but domestic and contemporary. The washing-up is stacked on the drainer, and the washing machine churns in the background. His Penelope has so far managed to ward off her suitors with the promise that she will give her hand to one of them once all Odysseus's clothes are washed: a never-ending tqask, since she spends her nights making the clothes dirty again. When Odysseus returns she fails to recognize him and demands proof of his identity. Their attempt to get through to each other is heart-rending and drives the conflight between Odysseus and the 'lovers' into the background (the only suitor shown here is actually a crab, would you believe!). This production can be seen as a deconstruction of the original story, much like Heiner Müller's 'Hamletmaschine', the physical adventures of the protagonists are eliminated and what remains is their inner conflict and the barrenness of modern life, the pain of the past and the impossibility of loving.
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Beatrijs Bergmans
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Assistant: Nathalie Nguyen
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