Kae Tempest reimagines the myth of the Greek legend of Philoctetes and fuses ancient themes with modern sensibilities for a powerful exposition of camaraderie, loyalty, betrayal and manipulation.
Through the projection of the photographs of Luca Catalano Gonzaga, the story is located on the coast, where the classical chorus is redefined as a group of people, unable to leave, who live their lives in a campsite. On the opposite side of the beach there is a cave where the ex-soldier Philoctetes lives, leading a hermit’s existence, immersed in his bitterness against Odysseus and still healing the wounds of his last battle, ten years ago.
The “paradise” of Tempest is an oxymoron, an island that has been devastated by civil war and hurricanes. It now serves as a dumping ground for prisoners and non-recyclable waste from around the world.
