The Odyssey

Is Ulysses really so happy to have returned to Ithaca? Blandine Savetier knows that the fate of the Greek hero and victor of the Trojan War isn't to live out his days on his island. To the contrary, the gods who, from shipwreck to shipwreck, dictated the rhythm of his Mediterranean odyssey, still predict him the discovery of many new shores. That's probably why the director focuses her reading of the ancient poem on the journey, which she sees as “an always renewed thirst for adventure which transforms people.” This process of metamorphosis is at the heart of the series of the 73rd edition which, in thirteen episodes of about fifty minutes each, tells the epic and suspenseful story of a popular and mythological hero. The Festival d'Avignon and its partners wished to entrust the performance of this seminal text to the actors of the Ier Acte programme and to citizens from Avignon, allowing us to listen, under the olive trees of the Ceccano garden, to a great diversity of voices, echoing Ulysses's own adventures.

Blandine Savetier created her first show in 2002, with Jean-Pierre Siméon's Stabat Mater Furiosa. Two years later, she founded the company Longtemps je me suis couché de bonne heure. Since then, she has directed over fifteen plays based on great works and by creating a hybrid theatre, made of diverse materials and disciplines. Her plays are always incredible performances and have both social and poetic ambitions. An associate artist with the Théâtre national de Strasbourg, she has long worked with 1er Acte, a workshop programme which aims to promote diversity on theatre stages.

The name of Homer was already synonymous with epic poetry as a whole in Ancient Greece. Nicknamed “the Poet,” he wrote in a language full of vivid images and easy to scan, which still fascinates readers with its flamboyant descriptions.

Odyssée by Homer, translated by Philippe Jaccottet, is published by La Découverte

With Aline Belibi, Elan Ben Ali, Neil-Adam Mohammedi, Yuko Oshima, Julie Pilod, Jordan Rezgui, Souleymane Sylla
And amateurs, theater-loving citizens Lou Attias, Claude Chauvet, Laurence Dahir, Marie-Noëlle De Witte, Ousmane Doukouré, Chryssi Giantsiou, Fernande Gontier, Gladys Goudou, Léa Guillou, Marie-Clotilde Imbert, Ilham Khattab, Marie Kretzschmar, Prune Le Dean, Laurence Le Duc, Douglas L. Santo, Soumaya Mrabet, Ayoub Raji, Martine Rieux-Missud, Magali Saghaard, Lina Sandoval, Tairo Sidibe, Guillaume Thieriot, Laura Torres

Conception Blandine Savetier
Text Homère
Translation Philippe Jaccottet
Montage and dramaturgy Blandine Savetier, Waddah Saab
Composition, percussions Yuko Oshima
Direction assistant Julie Pilod

Production Festival d'Avignon, Compagnie Longtemps je me suis couché de bonne heure, Théâtre national de Strasbourg
Co-production Festival Musica (Strasbourg)
With the support of : Fondation SNCF, sponsoring for 5 years the feuilleton du jardin Ceccano, SACD, Région Grand Est
With the artistic participation of Jeune théâtre national
With the help of Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, les Plateaux sauvages (Paris)
With the kind permissin of Theo Angelopoulos Heirs Association
In collaboration with bibliothèque Ceccano