Odyssee - NN Theater Köln Freiluftvestival 2024

In the organizer's words:

Of waiting and longing, of love and frenzy

Who doesn't know them, the legendary characters of the Odyssey: Odysseus, Penelope and their son Telemach?! The gods Zeus and Poseidon together with the goddess Athena, the mastermind of the story?! The one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus, the mysterious sorceress Kirke, the multi-headed monster Scylla or the singing sirens who spread fear and terror with their dangerous catchy tunes?!

But the second oldest saga in the western world, written around 800-700 BC, offers much more than an ancient maritime adventure of warriors returning from Troy. It astounds with timeless themes: dealing with suffering and guilt, the power of courage and loyalty and, last but not least, the birth and demise of love. It is peppered with fascinating parallels to modern times: brutal rulers; ruthless conquerors; a cycle of devastation, violence and counter-violence; the self-image of men and women; the question of what is a hero or heroine anyway?

The NN Theater Köln throws itself passionately into the story freely adapted from Homer and uses its full range to breathe life into the archetypes of this saga. With fast-paced role changes, acting depth, musicality ranging from hits to spherical sounds, and a good dose of humor, we also illuminate the bright and cheerful sides of this multi-layered, often bloodthirsty story and ignite a colourful theatrical firework display whose reverberations can be multi-tonal.

So let's get on board with Odysseus and his crew! From Troy back to Ithaca, 10 years criss-crossing the Mediterranean, to islands of security, danger and temptation. With gluttony, intoxication and dancing. With longing, oblivion and sex.

Will Odysseus return home, even if his ship and crew sink? Meanwhile, what about Penelope? Does she still believe in the return of her lost husband? Surrounded and coerced by countless suitors for years, as Queen of Ithaca she uses every trick in the book to buy herself air and time. How much longer will she be able to withstand the tribulation, or even want to? And their son Telemach? Having grown up without a father, he no longer believes in his father's return and rejects violence and lawlessness. But don't the brutal circumstances force him to reconsider his basic pacifist ideas? So is there a reunion? And if so, is it even possible to return to the old life after all this time?

We address all these questions in our production "Odyssey", staged by Rüdiger Pape and the playful ensemble of the NN Theater Köln.

Price information:

25,-/19,-/12,-