Orféo

Orféo

Orféo

1998

A classic myth transposed to the contemporary world. Freely devised as an homage to Jean Cocteau, Orféo invites viewers to consider their relationship to life and to the memories haunting their existence. Inhabiting this space of grief, where the dead and the living commingle, the production is a statement about the power of love and the importance of human interaction in an increasingly disembodied world.

Orféo, a UN peacekeeper, has recently returned from an overseas posting. He spends but a few hours in the company of his beloved, Eurydice, before she is struck down by a reckless driver. Destroyed by her death, he succumbs to drink, but the alcohol only deepens his pain as it blurs the boundaries between life and death. Meanwhile, Eurydice has awakened in Hades, where she is met by the angel Heurtebise. In an attempt to understand Eurydice’s rebellion against her fate, Heurtebise finds Orféo in the world of the living and guides him to Eurydice’s spirit. The lovers are reunited at last, but where exactly? Can love persist but in the mind of the survivor? Can the pain of such a loss ever be assuaged?

Credits & Performances