“Philoctetes is an attempt to re-examine actual and metaphysical space through the act of suffering, driven to the level of a ritual act.” (Nikolai Roshchin)
This inventive and fearlessly modern production revives Sophocles’ Philoctetes, a masterpiece of ancient Greek theatre. In order to conquer Troy, the Greeks are in need of Hercules’ bow, which is in the possession of Philoctetes, stranded on a distant island and suffering from a terrible wound on his leg. Ulysses, bringing with him Achilles’ son Neoptolemus, decides to sail to Philoctetes to retrieve the vital weapon. Afraid that the afflicted warrior will attempt to kill him and refuse to aid them in their mission, Ulysses convinces Neoptolemus to deceive Philoctetes as to their true intentions. The young hero though, already having received the bow, confesses everything and a complicated situation arises which can only be resolved by Hercules, who comes down from the heavens deus ex machina.
Director Nikolai Roshchin’s staging is based upon a modern treatment of the ancient text. As the story unfolds, the conflict shifts towards mass psychosis where every character hungers for the bow. The chorus demonstrates both crude physical strength and unbelievable rationality, bringing this thundering mixture down upon Philoctetes. In the end he becomes part of the chorus: pain transforms him, it subjugates him and simultaneously alters its own quality. As a result, a performance comes into existence on the stage driven by emotional-energetics, independent of the narrative. Blending the traditions of Russian classical acting, based on inner emotional experience, with the vital energies of the Greek tragedy, all of the aural and visual aspects of the staging strive to release the energy embedded within the ancient text, where the main character is Pain, Pain in all of its extreme manifestations, both physical and spiritual. As such, the form of this production calls to mind a dance of Pain, a hymn to Pain, and finally rebirth through Suffering
The first showing of this performance was held in the ancient stadium of Delphi (Greece) in June 2004 at the XII International Festival of Ancient Drama, marking the 2,500th anniversary of Sophocles’ birth.
The premiere was held on 5/06/2006
Performance duration: 1 h. 10 min. Staged by:
Artistic Direction — Valery Fokin
Direction and Scene Design — Nikolai Roshchin
Lighting Design — Artem Prikhodov
Musical Composition and Arrangement — Dmitry Volkov and Ivan Volkov. Performed by:
Dmitry Volkov, Ivan Volkov, Natalia Voloshina, Yulia Shimolina, Alexandra Streltsina, Denis Yakovlev, Oleg Gerasimov, Sergey Pechenkin, Michael Wighton, Alexander Komissarov, Nikolai Roshchin, Park Eun Ju, Sergei Savitsky.
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