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My Father, Odysseus
He suddenly looks different, less bent, less old, less broken, what a strange man. Is there some magic here? Is he a wizard? Old man . . . No that's not right.
Telemachus' father left long ago to fight a war. Telemachus doesn't remember him. Now the man of the house, he must step up to defend his father's legacy and protect his mother from the suitors that lounge around the court.
Meanwhile, the great Odysseus has been trapped by the goddess Kalypso for ten long years. Lost in his memories of past glories, he longs to return home.
This timeless Greek myth has been reinvented by playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker to create a modern, rich and powerful new work about a son searching for his father and a father searching for himself that is, at the same time, an exploration of masculinity and the effects of war.
My Father, Odysseus received its world premiere at the Unicorn Theatre, London, on 13 March 2016. It is ideal for young people over the age of 11.
Telemachus' father left long ago to fight a war. Telemachus doesn't remember him. Now the man of the house, he must step up to defend his father's legacy and protect his mother from the suitors that lounge around the court.
Meanwhile, the great Odysseus has been trapped by the goddess Kalypso for ten long years. Lost in his memories of past glories, he longs to return home.
This timeless Greek myth has been reinvented by playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker to create a modern, rich and powerful new work about a son searching for his father and a father searching for himself that is, at the same time, an exploration of masculinity and the effects of war.
My Father, Odysseus received its world premiere at the Unicorn Theatre, London, on 13 March 2016. It is ideal for young people over the age of 11.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 3, 2019
This is Wertenbaker's take on the Odyssey and follows her self-reflexive style, similar to The Love of the Nightingale. However, fidelity to the source and the constraints of a short play aimed at a young audience, prevent any real immersion or depth. What happens, is we hop through Odysseus' various encounters during his wanderings at such a pace that there are no real ramifications. These vignettes just feel compiled to make up the middle of the play rather than move the drama forward. Athena as an invisible guide to the young Telemachus was a nice touch, and there are a few references to telling stories and living in them that warrant further examination.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews