Metamorphoses
Thin bast wraps itself around the delicate chest. The hair grows into foliage, the arms into branches; the foot, still so nimble, clings to tough roots, the face has been devoured by the treetop: Only the shine remains.
Metamorphoses, 1st book 449-553, Apollo and Daphne
In his work, Ovid places human passions at the centre of his poetry. They are what transform his tragic heroes into non-human life. "Ovid's Dream" explores the mystery of these transformations and invites visitors to witness a garden of human passions for one night.
Theater Anu's park production "Ovid's Dream" approaches the stories of the Roman poet in a poetically sensual way and creates a garden of transformations.
Visitors find the leftover shells of the transformed: Shoes from which flames flicker; garments that have been transformed into lamps. The fabric of the clothes unravels, is spun into new thread, woven from tree to tree, interwoven into huge cocoons.
Sound collages, cello, sculpture, projection and shadow theatre combined with contemporary dance and movement art tell selected stories and motifs from Ovid's Metamorphoses in an unusual way.
With "Ovid's Dream", Theater Anu has created a second major park performance after "Traces of Light".
Asked whether the boy Narcissus was destined to live a long, mature life, the fate-telling seer Tiresias spoke:
As long as he does not recognise himself!
Metamorphoses, 3rd book 346-350, Narcissus and Echo