The site-specific work of the renowned Italian director Romeo Castellucci, takes place on 5 September at the Achaeological site of Elefsina and it will be available only for the residents of Elefsina.
Meeting point: Elefsina Old Town Hall | 18:45
Ticket presales start on 25 August exclusively at Elefsina Old Town Hall.
Two thousand years after the Eleusinian Mysteries, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, presents at 5 September the Mystery 11 MA, the new creation of Romeo Castellucci. The performance is dedicated to the residents of Elefsina. The internatioanally renowned Italian director intriduces a contemporary ritual, in the context of a site-specific performance specially designed for the Eleusis archaeological site. Ticket presales , will be available in special price, starts on 25 August, exclusively at Elefsina Old Town Hall.
Information:
Date: 1-13 September (except Mondays 4 & 11 September)
Tickets: 25€ general admission, 15€ students, 65+, unemployed, disabled persons and escorts (Ticket price includes access to the archaeological site)
Ticket presales online: ticketservices.gr
Contact: 2107234567, ticket office: Panepistimiou 39, Athens
Special performance for the residents of Elefsina: 5 September
Meeting point: Elefsina Old Town hall (Pedestrian area:Nikolaidou 39 & Laskou)
Venue: Eleusis archaeological site
Arrival time: 18:45-19:00 | Starting time: before sunset
Ticket special price: 15€
Ticket can be purchased exclusively at the Elefsina Old Town Hall (Monday to Friday – except Tuesday – 17:00-21:00 & Saturday-Sunday 12:00-20:00 | Deko account is required and identity card or passport for the certification of permanent residence.
ΜΑ – a one-word title interpreted in multiple languages: the first clear word of an infant calling its mother; the root of the word ‘‘matrice,’’ i.e. the womb which opens itself to earth in order to generate, and the mould that gives form to lifeless matter; moreover, in both Italian and Greek, the word MA is used as an exclamation of objection, opposition, but also as a linguistic marker of an oath, an appeal to the divine.
Castellucci’s protagonist is a non-Greek matricide, a foreigner. His arrival at the archaeological site undermines and subverts the original cult, which forbade entry to anyone who had stained their hands with blood. Laying hands on a mother was tantamount to subverting the order of the universe − since a mother gives birth, she can also bring death; a child, as it cannot give birth to its mother, it cannot kill her either. Βarbarians were also prohibited to participate in the Eleusinian Mysteries, because their language was limited and thus had no notion of logos (discourse), of words and silence; they also had no notion of rhythm, which distributes meanings, expectations, pulses and pauses – the measure that restrains and orders chaos.
Without resorting to a representation of the archaic ritual according to archaeological typology, nor to a contemporary re-interpretation and re-articulation of the history of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Romeo Castellucci places the uninitiated, the barbarians and the matricides at the centre of attention, to highlight the symbolism and the allegorical dimension of the drama.
In the unbroken silence of the Eleusis archaeological site – without the use of consumable energy, under broad daylight – the man, having served his sentence, crosses the sacred locus. Only through sacrilege, however, can the sanctuary be reactivated. Forgiveness, the longed-for reconciliation, can only come through desecration.
Contributors:
Conceived & Directed by: Romeo Castellucci
Original Music: Demetrio Castellucci
Choreography: Gloria Dorliguzzo
Dramaturgy Associate: Lucia Amara
Assistant Director: Silvano Voltolina
Assistant Choreographer: Camilla Neri
Production manager: Giulia Colla
Technical Director: Eugenio Resta
Costume Designer: Chiara Venturini
Stage Sculptures: Plastikart Studio (Istvan Zimmermann & Giovanna Amoroso)
Production: SOCIETAS & TOOFAREAST
Starring Filippo Addamo
Also participating: Alexia Dimitrakoulia, Katerina Douvi, Penny Eleftheriadou, Stefania Gogou, Dafni Kafetzi, Katerina Kalochristianaki, Stella Kapetaniou, Athina Kirousi, Gabriela Kokkini, Polena Kolia Petersen, Iro Konti, Christiana Kosiari, Konstantina Koutsaftaki, Eirini Kyriakou, Laura Mamakos, Eirini Mastora, Afroditi Michailidou, Faidra Ntagioglou, Panagiotarea Erofili, Fotini Papachristopoulou, Kristie Papadopoulou, Katerina Papandreou, Maria Psarologou, Antonia Pitoulidou Maro Stavrinou, Serafina Sideri, Rafaela Tsobanoudi, Eleni Vergeti, Chryssi Vidalaki, Ioanna Chloe Voulgari, Eleni Zafiri
And the children: Theano Christinaki, Athena Makri, Maria Passa, Emilia Roussi
Musicians: Aggelos Christakis, Renato Kousis, Menelaos Moraitis, Spiros Tzekos
Age guidance: 14+
A production of 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture
With the support of the Ephorate of Antiquities of West Attica.
The project Mystery 11 MA is realised in the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” with funding from the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
