Mount Olympus. To glorify the cult of tragedy, a 24 hour performance is one huge slab of history dipped in a sea of time. It is humanity’s time, time of the birth of tragedy, of the descent into hell and the volcano of evil, ceaselessly spewing its ashes. Its breeding grounds are the hubris, blindness and cravings of man. Over and over, man stumbles over divine commandments, falls, and drags along generations of time. Simultaneously distant and nearby, we recognize outlines of stories and characters taken from Greek tragedy. These characters have their faults torn open by Fabre, are left in tatters, beaten by violence and Homeric laughter and fervent ecstasy.
However, tragedy is forced to share its spotlights with time. What is time, in theatre? What happens when time is stretched out, until it relaxes and unravels? Is this a sort of hallucination? A dream? What is it like to wallow in the swamp of insomnia.
Mount Olympus is shaping up to be a unique experience. Come climb that mountain, dive into that ocean. This will be unforgettable.
"An absolute masterpiece. Its extreme duration is the catalyst that makes all the meanings shift and slide, until all the misery turns into an orgasmic apotheosis. It is also biting social criticism, a hefty dose of art history, unorthodox psychoanalysis, political satire and much more. With a liberating laugh as the icing on the cake. Definitely historic." - De Morgen
"Mount Olympus is one long, intoxicating orgasmic rendition of Jan Fabre's metaphorical vision of man. This 24-hour performance is an intensely addictive experience." - De Volkskrant
"You go through it as an individual and wake up as a community in a shimmering final ritual, a modern Dionysa." - De Standaard
"What Fabre delivers with this mammoth performance is a magnificent, powerful, in many respects unique theatrical work on the myth. He is not concerned with modernising, with superficially searching for the problems of our time. But he is just as little interested in classicism to the letter. It is the longing for the timeless, born out of the contrast between once and now, that makes Fabre's theatre performance so expressive." - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
performers (creation 2015) Lore Borremans, Katrien Bruyneel, Annabelle Chambon, Cédric Charron, Renée Copraij, Anny Czupper, Els Deceukelier, Barbara De Coninck, Piet Defrancq, Melissa Guérin, Stella Höttler, Sven Jakir, Ivana Jozic, Marina Kaptijn, Gustav Koenigs, Sarah Lutz, Moreno Perna, Gilles Polet , Pietro Quadrino, Antony Rizzi, Matteo Sedda, Kasper Vandenberghe, Lies Vandewege, Andrew Van Ostade, Marc Moon Van Overmeir
concept, direction Jan Fabre
choreography Jan Fabre & dancers
texts Jeroen Olyslaegers & Jan Fabre
music Dag Taeldeman
dramaturgy Miet Martens
licht design Jan Fabre & Helmut Van den Meersschaut
costume design Jan Fabre & Kasia Mielczarek
assistent to the director Floria Lomme
artist in residence/background images Phil Griffin
guest dramaturges Hans-Thies Lehmann, Luk Van den Dries, Freddy Decreus
kendo teacher Erik Van de Mert
yoga teachers Renée Copraij, Ivana Jozic, Annabelle Chambon, Cédric Charron
production Ilka Dewilde (creation 2015), Sebastiaan Peeters (tour)
technical director André Schneider light technician Helmut Van den Meersschaut, Wout Janssens
technician Kevin Deckers, Milan Vandoren
sound Tom Buys
subtitling Lies Linthout
interns Maarten van Mulken (costumes), An Somers (costumes), Alessandra Ferreri (props, light), Roxane Gire (production), Sam De Mol (fotography & webcontent)
special thanks to Tom Alofs, Margot Bloemen, Giulio Boato, Joanna De Vos, Nino Goyvaerts, Serge Hannecart, Maai Meukens, Mikes Poppe, Melania Rossi, Anne Schütt, Sven Tassaert, Lode Verreyen, Mia Vuylsteke, Jan Dekeyser, Harry Bleyens, Hans Everaert, Erik Sansen, Philip Heylen, Jan Rombouts
production Troubleyn/Jan Fabre
co-productie ¨Berliner Festspiele/Foreign Affairs, Concertgebouw Brugge/December Dance, Julidans 2015 Amsterdam with the special support of the City of Antwerpen and with the support of Angelos, Antwerp
Troubleyn/Jan Fabre receives subsidies from the Flemish Government and the City of Antwerp
| 27/06/2015 | BERLINER FESTSPIELE, Berlin |
| 28/06/2015 | BERLINER FESTSPIELE, Berlin |
| 04/07/2015 | JULI DANS, Amsterdam |
| 05/07/2015 | JULI DANS, Amsterdam |
| 10/10/2015 | DIMITRIA FESTIVAL, Thessaloniki |
| 11/10/2015 | DIMITRIA FESTIVAL, Thessaloniki |
| 17/10/2015 | ROMA EUROPA, Rome |
| 18/10/2015 | ROMA EUROPA, Rome |
| 05/12/2015 | DECEMBER DANCE, Bruges |
| 06/12/2015 | DECEMBER DANCE, Bruges |
| 30/01/2016 | TONEELHUIS, Antwerp |
| 31/01/2016 | TONEELHUIS, Antwerp |
| 05/03/2016 | TEATRO CENTRAL, Sevilla |
| 06/03/2016 | TEATRO CENTRAL, Sevilla |
| 21/05/2016 | WIENER FESTWOCHEN, Vienna |
| 22/05/2016 | WIENER FESTWOCHEN, Vienna |
| 09/06/2016 | ISRAEL FESTIVAL - THE JERUSALEM THEATER, Jerusalem |
| 10/06/2016 | ISRAEL FESTIVAL - THE JERUSALEM THEATER, Jerusalem |
| 27/08/2016 | THEATERFESTIVAL - TONEELHUIS, Antwerp |
| 28/08/2016 | THEATERFESTIVAL - TONEELHUIS, Antwerp |
| 24/09/2016 | KAAITHEATER, Brussels |
| 25/09/2016 | KAAITHEATER, Brussels |
| 28/04/2017 | STADSSCHOUWBURG, Amsterdam |
| 29/04/2017 | STADSSCHOUWBURG, Amsterdam |
| 15/09/2017 | LA VILLETTE, Paris |
| 16/09/2017 | LA VILLETTE, Paris |
| 23/09/2017 | BITEF FESTIVAL - SAVA CENTER, Belgrade |
| 24/09/2017 | BITEF FESTIVAL - SAVA CENTER, Belgrade |
| 12/01/2018 | TEATROS DEL CANAL, Madrid |
| 13/01/2018 | TEATROS DEL CANAL, Madrid |
| 10/11/2018 | NYU SKRIBAL CENTER, New York |
| 11/11/2018 | NYU SKRIBAL CENTER, New York |
