The Marriage of Medea
Celebrated in the open air or in closed
spaces
A performance by Eugenio Barba based on the myth of
Medea
The Marriage of Medea is the result of Odin Teatret's
lasting interest in acting traditions. Odin Teatret, whose actors
are of different nationalities, has since 1966 organised various
working sessions and seminars on the actor's technique. It began
with the research practised by Jerzy Grotowski, Etienne Decroux,
Jacques Lecoq, Dario Fo, Jean-Louis Barrault, Joseph Chaikin,
Judith Malina and Julian Beck.
Since the early 1970s, Odin Teatret has involved in
this activity Javanese and Balinese ensembles and artists (Sardono,
I Made Pasek Tempo, I Made Bandem, I Made Djimat), Japanese Noh,
Kyogen, Kabuki and Shingeki theatre (Hisao and Hideo Kanze, Mannojo
and Kosuke Nomura, Sawamura Sojuro, Shuji Terayama) and India's
main classical forms of theatre-dance: Kathak, Bharatanatyam,
Odissi, Chhau and Kathakali. In addition to the chance to see these
striking Asian artists performing, these seminars were an
opportunity to get acquainted with the principles of their style
and technical knowledge.
ISTA, International School of Theatre Anthropology,
founded in 1979, broadened the scope of this research and has grown
in symbiosis with Odin Teatret. ISTA is an itinerant intermittent
"university" characterised by a technical exchange between
regularly returning artists and scholars of different genres and
nationalities. In this "performers' village", they compare and
analyse the technical foundations of their styles in sessions
lasting from two weeks to two months. From 1980 to 2005, fourteen
ISTA sessions have taken place in Europe and Latin America. All of
them ended with a Theatrum Mundi performance with musicians and
performers from different cultures.
It is this tradition of Theatrum Mundi that The
Marriage of Medea keeps alive. The rehearsals took place in
December 2007 and April 2008 in Bali and had their final phase in
Holstebro in May and June 2008.

Myten om Medea
Myten om Medea fortæller om den græske helt Jason, der sejler
over Sortehavet til Kolchis (nutidens Georgien) for at bede dets
konge, Aietes, om det berømte Gyldne Skind. Kongen nægter, men hans
datter Medea forelsker sig i Jason og hjælper ham til at stjæle
Skindet. Jason og Medea flygter sammen til Grækenland, hvor de
gifter sig og får to børn.
Senere forlader Jason sin hustru for i stedet at indgå ægteskab
med Kreusa, prinsessen i Korinth. Medeas reaktion er at sende sin
rivalinde en forhekset bryllupskjole, som får den kommende brud til
at brænde op. Tragedien ender med Medeas drab på sine to sønner,
inden hun ifølge den græske myte bliver ført bort af Solen, hendes
bedstefar, i en ildvogn.

THE MARRIAGE OF
MEDEA
Celebrated in the open air or in closed
spaces
A performance by Eugenio Barba
based on the myth of Medea
Scener fra forestillingen
1. Fra fortiden kommer Medea og Jasons
bryllupsoptog, sammen med
deres børn, til syne her og nu.
2. Klotho, gudinden, som spinder og afhugger
menneskets livstråd,
præsenterer historiens tråd.
3. Medea danser med sit folks kvinder.
4. Festligt intermezzo.
5. Første fejring: Medea hjælper Jason med at
stjæle det Gyldne Skind.
6. Festligt intermezzo.
7. Anden fejring: Familiescene med kongen
Aietes, hans datter
Medea og hans søn Apsyrtos. Medea slagter sin bror for at stikke
af
med Jason. I sin sorg og blind af raseri skærer Aietes halsen
over
på en hest.
8. Festligt intermezzo.
9. Tredje fejring: Skænderi mellem Medea og
Jason, som vil forlade
hende for at gifte sig med den unge Kreusa. Medea sender sine
to
børn til Kreusa med en gave og bruger sine trolddomskunstner
til
at mangfoldiggøre sig selv og få sin rival til at gå op i
flammer.
10. Festligt intermezzo.
11. Fjerde fejring: Medea slår sine børn ihjel
og bliver reddet af
Barong, det totem-dyr, der er hendes folks beskytter.
12. Jason taler til sine døde børn.
13. Klotho samler livets brudte tråde, og
bryllupsoptoget bevæger
sig videre ind i fremtiden.
MEDEA: Ni Made Partini
JASON: Tage Larsen
CLOTHO: Julia Varley
DIONYSOS: Augusto Omolú
MEDEA'S FATHER: I Wayan Bawa
THE PRIEST: Cristina Wistari Formaggia