Philoctetes. Last minute

“Ashes and dust. Homeland. Spring flowers on the native plains. Deception. Psychopaths. State and family. Childbirth. Insurance. Crematorium. Heroes…”

The island of Lemnos is an exceptional adventure destination. Air conditioning, Sex on the Beach, All Inclusive. The once-famous hero Philoctetes survives here for eternity thanks to his miraculous bow, which he uses to hunt game. Alone. The wound on his leg hurts, festers and stinks. It is because of this wound that he was once dropped off on the island by his friends and fellow warriors, led by the cunning Odysseus, as they sailed to sack Troy. It was supposed to be a quick victory, but now they are dying one by one in a war that no one really wanted. They can only win thanks to Philoctetes and his miraculous weapon, and so they return to Lemnos after ten years. An island full of fire and carrion. Can the young hero Neoptolemos win Philoctetes to his side while maintaining the moral integrity and values of his generation? Or will he just passively accept the power strategies of the old patriarchal world? The fate of an entire civilization rests in the hands of a crippled madman.

The original Czech play by the X10 Theatre’s tribal author Ondřej Novotný is a sovereign version of Sophocles’ lesser-known tragedy. It presents a world struck by all kinds of crises that result in a long and killing war conflict. All wish for its end and a return to normal life. But what form should this end take and what is or is not so-called normal? The clash between pragmatism and idealism, the conflict between a generation of naive sons and famous fathers, arises with a current urgency. What if the fame of the fathers is a lie? Will our own solar panel and coconut sandals save us? What happens when we leave Lemnos?

A co-production project of Theatre X10 and the Theatre World Brno festival.