Alcestis

Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana

Première: 11 October 2013, Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana
Running time 1 hour and 30 minutes. No interval.

Original title  Ἄλκηστις

Translator Jera Ivanc
Director Boris Liješević
Composer Aleksandar Kostić
Dramaturg Darja Dominkuš
Stage designer Branko Hojnik
Costume designers Leo Kulaš and Ljubica Čehovin Suna
Language consultant Tatjana Stanič
Lighting designers Branko Hojnik and Vlado Glavan
Assistant to director (student) Nina Raić Kranjac

Cast
Apollo, Admetus, Chorus; piano, vocals Uroš Fürst
Death, Serving-woman, Alcestis, Chorus; vocals, percussion Iva Babić
Pheres, Servant, Chorus; drums, vocals Marko Okorn
Heracles, Chorus; guitar, cello, piano, vocals Matija Rozman

Death as taboo. A weak, disoriented man who puts on top of his life priorities having fun in the company of his fellows. A woman who willy-nilly has to be strong for her man too. A generational conflict in which the elderly stick to their lives and positions while the young ones are intolerant and disrespectful towards them. A marriage as a unit of unequals that displays unsurpassable gaps. The dictate of fun and alcoholic intoxication … Did we really name some of the elements of Euripides’s Alcestis or have we just looked around us and recognised some of the burning symptoms of the time we live in?
The story of a wife who sacrifices herself and dies instead of her husband to be subsequently brought back to life by a sensible semi-god is permeated with irony and black humour. In spite of its mythical roots it sounds surprisingly contemporary, especially in its refined disclosure of human fears and weaknesses, sex differences and generational conflicts, which haven’t changed much since antiquity.

Photo: Peter Uhan

Photo: Peter Uhan

Photo: Peter Uhan

Photo: Peter Uhan