PERSIANS. TRIUMPH OF EMPATHY
In what way is empathy still possible in a conflict that seems dominated by immense brutality and all-consuming revenge? For ‘PERSIANS. Triumph of Empathy' theatre maker Chokri Ben Chikha travelled to Israel and Palestine to listen to various voices.
MAKERS
Chokri Ben Chikha / NTGent & Action Zoo Humain
PRACTICAL INFO
✔ Multiple languages spoken
✔ Dutch & English surtitles
SYNOPSIS
Persians is the oldest of the surviving Greek tragedies. In his famous play, Aeschylus describes the war between the Greeks and the Persians from the enemy's point of view. A striking choice that inspired theatre maker Chokri Ben Chikha for PERSIANS. Triumph of Empathy, the brand new performance by Action Zoo Humain and Belgian city theatre NTGent.
Ben Chikha travelled to Israel and Palestine in January 2024 in search of empathy and hope in a highly polarised conflict. He spoke to soldiers, artists, civilians, academics and victims there. Or rather, he listened to them.
Who and what determines how we look at the conflict between Israel and Palestine? And what role can an ancient theatre text play in this? In PERSIANS. Triumph of Empathy, five dancers and an actress are challenged to sharpen their personal, political and artistic vision on hubris and empathy, two main themes in Aeschylus' tragedy. The ordeal is made all the more acute by the presence of Palestinian and Israeli voices from the interviews Ben Chikha conducted in the Middle East.
The most current version of the full promotext can be found on this page.
TOUR DATES
The most current version of the tour dates can be found on this page.
PRESS QUOTES
✒ “"A HIGHLY CONTEMPLATED PUNCH IN THE STOMACH (...) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAOS, THEATRE HAS THE POWER TO LOOK THE OTHER IN THE EYE AS HUMANS" --- De Standaard (BE) ****
✒ "THE RESULT IS MIRACULOUS. 'PERSIANS' NOT ONLY OPENS UP THE DEBATE ABOUT PALESTINE BUT ALSO ABOUT THEATRE ITSELF" --- Wouter Hillaert, Pzazz (BE)
VIDEO
- Download the teaser of ‘Persians’ here: https://vimeo.com/837319919
BIOGRAPHY
Chokri Ben Chikha (1969) is an actor, dancer, choreographer, performer and dramatist. He is artistic lead at Action Zoo Humain and teaches and researches at the KASK in Ghent, where he obtained his doctorate in the arts in 2013. In 2009, he founded Action Zoo Humain, a company that plays with polyphony and explores how theatre can directly affect reality, without losing sight of its poetic potential and self-criticism.Chokri questions the tension between ethics, identity and neoliberalism: he identifies these concepts as three of the most important challenges of the 21st century.
Read Chokri Ben Chikha's bio here.
CREDITS
View the most current version of the credits on this page.
CONTACT
❔ Are you interested in programming this performance? Please contact Sophie Vanden Broeck, sales manager at NTGent:
✉: sophie.vanden.broeck@ntgent.be
☎: +32 485 80 38 43
❔ If you didn't find the promotional material you were looking for on this page, please contact Benny D'haeseleer, communications officer at NTGent at benny.dhaeseleer@ntgent.be
❔ For the technical rider or other technical questions, please contact chris.vanneste@ntgent.be