Romeo Castellucci’s show is his tribute to the Eleusian Mysteries, which took place here every September from 1600 BC to 400 AD. Today, Eleusis, 21 kilometers from Athens, is a city of 30,000 inhabitants, surrounded by cement and oil refineries, as well as abandoned factories and former industrial buildings, now adapted for cultural purposes.
Romeo Castellucci, who has always been inspired by mythology, has created a modern ritual – a performance Ma takes place in the Eleusinian Archaeological Park. The purpose of the ancient mysteries was to explain and celebrate life – both birth and death – and receive the blessing of Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture. “Here has been found the matrix of observation of the world and time, the Greek spirit has created a system of references, checks and measurements to bring order to the cosmos and the world. Here the sun shines powerfully high in the sky and casts black shadows. Here is born a ritual formed by silent visions, much deeper than the words later used in the codification of the myth. Here the mother Demeter demanded that her daughter return from the dead. Here the impossible was attempted – to experience death while alive,” says Romeo Castellucci.
Two categories of people were forbidden to participate in the Eleusinian Mysteries – murderers of their own mothers and barbarians. To raise one’s hand against one’s mother meant to overturn the order of the cosmos – since the mother gives birth, she can also bring death, while the son cannot give birth to his mother, so he must not kill her either. Barbarians (non-Greeks) were not allowed to participate in the ritual because they speak poorly and have no concept of logos (word, thought, principle, speech, plan, also the divine intelligence that is contained in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning) and the order of discourse that reigns between words and silence, they have no idea of rhythm, which, separating meaning and expectation, emphasis and pauses, is a measure that limits and organizes chaos.
Production Ma the main character represents both of the above categories – he is the murderer of his mother and is not Greek. Romeo Castellucci does not engage either in the archaic ritual depiction according to the archaeological typology, nor in the modern reinterpretation and rearticulation of the mysteries. The director places the uninitiated in the center of attention to highlight the symbolism and allegorical dimension of the drama. After serving the punishment, a person crosses the border of the holy place. The sanctuary can only be restored by experiencing desecration. Forgiveness, reconciliation can only come after defilement.
The show takes place in natural light, does not use electricity or technological structures. It is a restrained contemporary ritual in which the hero is surrounded by chants to reconnect him with his mother.
The performance Ma Eleusinian Archaeological Park will be shown a total of eleven times, all tickets are sold out.
The official program of the European Capital of Culture year in Eleusis will continue until November 22.
2023-09-07 00:20:56
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