Dionysus 360

Dionysus 360″ is an experimental performance captured with a 360-degree camera. It’s based on three tragedies: Euripides’ “The Phoenician Women”, “The Bacchae,” as well as Aeschylus’ “The Suppliants.”

We want to put emphasis on reconstruction and portrayal of the shifting mechanisms of characters. By doing so, we continue to develop the discoveries made within the framework of the artistic research project “The Dynamics of Metamorphosis,” which we initiated in 2012. The subject of our studies is the previously unexplored topic of the sequence of roles played by three ancient actors who portrayed all of the characters in the tragedies. For this reason, no more than three characters are on stage at a time (of course, not counting the chorus). According to the algorithm of parodos and exodos of individual characters, only one shifting order combination applies ( with some exceptions) to most tragedies. Our assumptions were confirmed – the order of transformations carries the meaning of the entire trilogy. It determines the choice of acting techniques and often directly influences the stage behaviour of the characters. Subsequent actor incarnations give new meanings to the tragedy’s invoked myth, and the chain of transformations unites all characters played by one actor into one meta-character. Further embodiments of the actors give a new sense to the myth summoned in the tragedy. The chain of transformations joins all of the characters portrayed by the actor into one meta-character.

The successive incarnations fuel one another, often anticipating each other’s appearance on stage, constantly reminding the audience of who is hiding behind the mask. The succession of characters played allows the actor to create enough space in the previous one for the next role. Meanwhile, in a quotation situation, it will enable the voice of the quoted character to speak back to the spectator, who suddenly severely ‘disagrees’ with the new mask. Euripides makes his audience aware of the extent to which one can identify with another’s fate, joy, or suffering and encourages them to do so. This extraordinary blend of the fates of different people is done by following a set of specific rules. Discovering and understanding them through acting practice is the focus of this project. Relying on how ancient actors worked, we decided to try a new way of working on acting scores, answering the pandemic circumstances. Each actor will work in isolation – the first and only meeting together will take place during the premiere. Actors working in isolation, mostly in their homes, have been forced to place the greatest emphasis on text interpretation and characterisation and understanding the mechanism of character transformation. The need to leave room for a partner, to anticipate their presence in their performance – the effectiveness of which will only be verified on the day of the premiere, in front of the audience – will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the ancient actor’s workshop. Through the use of 360 technology, the viewer is invited to participate in the performance and look around the stage actively. Acoustically, they are still at the heart of the action, and thanks to the omnidirectional cameras, they can decide for themselves which actor they are following with their eyes whom they are observing at any given moment. This kind of spectator involvement in the performance produces an entirely new form of perception, paradoxically bringing us closer to the ancient predecessors.

We hope to invite a new type of audience to the theatre in the activities of neTTheatre- Theatre in the Web, derived from CHOREI – the world’s first online theatre.