Laios

In the organizer's words:

A minor character is at the center of this play. We only know him, if at all, as a murder victim. As the man whom his own son, Oedipus, kills. Whose widow, Iocaste, unwittingly begets other children incestuously with that son. Among them Antigone. As the great-grandson of the man who founded Thebes - not without first sowing an army from dragon's teeth - Laius does everything he can to escape his function (in the family, the city, the myth). Appointed heir to the throne as a child and therefore long represented as ruler, the young man leads a queer life in Olympia, with no interest in power. But the city, born of a bloody struggle, catches up with him: As the last survivor of the ruling clan, only he could bring peace to the civil war-torn country. So Laios finally accepts his leadership role - and fate takes its course.

There is much talk of the future in this play. An age of reason is propagated and the citizens of Thebes are called upon to separate powers. But the ruthless commitment to violence when one's own position is threatened is the common thread running through the drama sequence "Anthropolis", the second part of which is "Laios".

In airy, highly poetic language, Roland Schimmelpfennig tells a story between the ages. Using different myth variants as a quarry, he connects "tomorrow with today and yesterday", asks about guilt, passed on from generation to generation, but also about the freedom that remains for the individual - as responsibility.

To the audio introduction by Katharina Gerschler

Please note: The production of "Laios" involves the use of stroboscopic lighting, which may cause health problems for people with photosensitivity.

Further information (content notes) are available for the production "Laios". If required, these can be called up in the Accessibility: Sensory stimuli and Content Notes section.

Duration of performance: approx. 1 h 50 min, one interval