PHAEDRA

Larysa Kadyrova - Ukraine

Balzac declared Jean Racine’s (1639-1699) Phaedra to be an "object of envy for poets at all times". Phaedra unites sophisticated literary entertainment and passion for classical mythology. The story sets in after Phaedra has swallowed the poison and shows the last minutes of her life as she re-lives the events that led to that tragic end: her passionate love for her stepson, Hippolytus; the plot to kill her husband, the King of Athens, Theseus, and her hopes of winning over Hippolytus if not by love, then by the allure of the sceptre, and finally, the Hippolytus‘ outraged rejection. It is only now that Phaedra starts to comprehend the destructiveness of her obsessive passion. Ariadne‘s (Phaedra‘s sister) thread has a symbolic meaning for Kadyrova‘s Phaedra. It leads the protagonist through the labyrinth of her life entangling her in a net of strong and consuming feelings.

Directed by: Alexey Kuzhelny; Music: Vadim Rakochy; Stage director: Vladislav Vonyatytsky; Costume design: Nadezhda Kudryavtseva

50 minutes; in Ukrainian

Saturday, March 3 / Studio im Schauspielhaus/ 19:00