Nolan’s Odyssey (3) — the collapse of civilization and the shape of history

Performing the archive — a study in theatre/archaeology In July I posted a response to Nolan’s Odyssey [Link] — an old story, I argued, but not the one that was being talked about. The movie faithfully restages not Homer but a nineteenth-century grand narrative of civilization and its fall. A month of reviews and a…

Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey (1) – an old story, but not the one that’s being talked about

Replaying Homer — Theatre/Archaeology. Notes on Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. The Odyssey, adapted from Homer and directed by Christopher Nolan. Even before its release on July 17, the movie generated much discussion and commentary. Historical accuracy – helmets from the wrong period, Viking ships in the Bronze Age, and an Agamemnon that looks like Batman. Fidelity to Homer’s…

war music

Poetry turned performance — National Theatre Wales are currently presenting a performed version of Christopher’s Logue’s extraordinary account of Homer’s Iliad, designed and directed by Mike Pearson and Mike Brookes. [Link] Pasts and presents mingled in place event, past poetic shards rearticulated as real-time event – theatre/archaeology. It’s another theatrical triumph – after Aeschylus Persians…