Directed by:Sjoerd Wagenaar
A site-specific artistic intervention by the Dutch theatre director inspired by the Eleusinian coast
September 26, 27, 29, 30
PUBLIC SPACE, VLYCHA
Book your seat by clicking here.
The Mystery 60 metamorphoSEA, created by Dutch theatre director Sjoerd Wagenaar, will be staged in Vlycha from September 26 to 30 as part of the 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture’s artistic programme. It’s both a site-specific walking performance in the modern city of Eleusis’ seaside scenery and an invitation to a new Odyssey. The focus is on the 14th chapter of James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which deals with the myth of the horrific slaughter of sun-god Helios’ sacred Oxen on the island of Thrinacia, drawing inspiration from Homer’s Odyssey’s rhapsody M.
MetamorphoSEA seeks a modern cleansing of this ancient sacrilege by using the story of hubris perpetrated by Odysseus’ company as a vehicle. The audience is invited to confront the new Sirens as they roam the industrial complex of TITAN in modern Eleusis. The voices of an Eleusinian woman who no longer exists, as well as the ancient Hierophant of the Eleusinian Mysteries’ call KONX OM PAX, will be heard in the “vrachákia” area. After passing through today’s Scylla and Charybdis, the audience will arrive at the symbolically charged waterfront of Vlycha Bay.
The half-submerged and decommissioned ships, tankers, barges, and passenger ships stand as witnesses to another kind of infamy that has been committed there, involving the annihilation of the famous – and praised since antiquity – nature of the Eleusinian coastline. At metamorphoSEA, we seek out any beauty that may still be hidden among the ruins. A new language will emerge, capable of informing us about the required modern metamorphosis within all of us, Odysseus’ modern companions.
A few more notes regarding the Mystery 60 metamorphoSEA
The Mystery 60 metamorphoSEA is being implemented in Eleusis as part of the European initiative Ulysses European Odyssey, which is co-financed by Creative Europe and aims to connect 18 European cities by mobilising local communities to address contemporary urging issues through cultural practices. metamorphoSEA is a creative and artistic type of participatory action in which local people, artists, environmentalists, and experts with significant roles in Eleusis are invited to imagine a better future together. In this regard, Dutch theatre director Sjoerd Wagenaar will stage a site-specific artistic intervention inspired by the Eleusinian coast, notably the bay of Vlycha. This performance intervention begins with a social opening that addresses the residents of Eleusis’ love of the sea and their yearning to be reunited with its shoreline. Greek and Dutch artists collaborate on the performance’s implementation, kicking off an international exchange of skills, practices, and experiences.
Dates : September 26, 27, 29, 30, 2023
Hours: 19:00 – 21:30
Meeting place: Eleftherias (Freedom) Square, 192 00, Eleusis
Vlycha Public Space
Free admission with advanced reservations
Book your seat by clicking here.
Director: Sjoerd Wagenaar (NL)
Assistant Director: Seta Astreou Karides (GR)
Writer/Dramaturg: Manolis Tsipos (GR)
Lighting Designer: Valentina Tamiolaki (GR)
Sound Designer: Dennis van Tilburg (NL)
Set & Costume Designer: Dido Gkogkou (GR)
Video Projection Designer: Jurjen Jellema (NL)
Production assistant: Giorgos Palios (GR)
Performers (GR): Spyros Detsikas, Ioanna Karategou, Iro Karra, Isavella Kasimati & Theodore Vrachas
Performers (NL): Jolanda Bazzi & Laila el Bazi
Project organisation & management: CHORUS (GR)
Conceived and produced by: CHORUS (GR) & Brave New World Producties (NL)
Co-funded by: Creative Europe & 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture
Access to Eleusis
# 21km
Eleusis, located just 21 kilometres from the centre of Athens, is the fourth European Capital of Culture hosted in Greece. It is one of the most important sacred cities of antiquity, the city of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the birthplace of Aeschylus. Eleusis can be accessed in the following ways:
Via car or motorcycle via Attiki Odos or Athinon Avenue, just a 25-minute drive from the Athens city centre.
Via bus (lines 845 and 871 from Piraeus, line 876 from the “Agia Marina” metro station and line 878 from Acharnai).
Via the suburban railway (Magoula Station and then bus line 863).
Via KTEL (intercity public transport bus service -> line Megara – Nea Peramos – Eleusis; starting point at Asomaton Square, Thission).
ULYSSES European Partners:
Arena Ensemble (PT)
ARTS OVER BORDERS (IE)
Blaagaard Teater (DK)
Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Theatre and Film (RO)
Brave New World Producties (NL)
Budapest Brand nZrt (HU)
Commune di Trieste (IT)
CHORUS (GR)
Create.Act.Enjoy (RO)
Critical+Xwhy Agency (LT)
Fundación Uxío Novoneyra (ES)
gethan&myles and Collectif ildi ! eldi (FR)
Lumo Light Festival (FI)
Museo Joyce Trieste (IT)
Museum of Literature Ireland, MoLI (IE)
Noorderlicht (NL)
ONASSIS Stegi (GR)
Rimini Protokoll (DE)
Teatrul National Lucian Blaga din Cluj-Napoca (RO)
Vilnius City Museum (LT)
Yalan Dünya Films Ltd. (TR)
Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland
