65
21 May | Teatro Paisiello
Via Giuseppe Palmieri, 83 | Lecce
Curtain up: 9.00 p.m.
Set and Costume Design: Sara Bianchi
Music: Massive Attack
Lighting Design: Giuseppe Filippone
Assistant Directors: Chiara Anzelmo and Lorenza Molina
Movement Direction: Fabrizio Federici
Curated by Associazione Culturale Aletheia Teatro
Artistic Director: Carla Guido
Produced and organised by Zerkalo
Free admission, subject to available seating.
The myth of Circe is reinterpreted through a contemporary female perspective, transforming her story into a journey of personal growth, self-discovery and emancipation. Solitude becomes strength, while passion evolves into self-awareness. The narrative focuses on Circe's life before her encounter with Odysseus.
The daughter of Helios, the Sun God, and the Oceanid nymph Perseis, Circe stands apart from the other gods. Restless, independent and deeply sensitive to human suffering, she is exiled to the island of Aeaea, where, far removed from the world, she begins to shape her own destiny. There she studies the healing properties of plants, learns to master the natural world and gradually refines her extraordinary powers.
A complex and deeply contradictory figure, Circe experiences love, rivalry and fear before facing a defining choice: whether to remain among the immortals or embrace the mortal world she has come to cherish.
In Greek mythology, Circe embodies a striking duality—both cruel and compassionate, hostile and welcoming. She is at once Woman, Nymph, Sorceress, Lover and Wife, encompassing the many dimensions of the feminine experience.
Remarkably modern in her complexity, Circe emerges as a symbol of freedom, transformation and identity.
The production is presented by Zerkalo.
CIRCE: LE ORIGINI forms part of MITIKA – Teatro e Mito nella contemporaneità, the theatrical strand of Armonie in Scena, and concludes a trilogy of performances of exceptional emotional and symbolic power, curated by Aletheia Teatro under the artistic direction of Carla Guido.
Alongside Dedalo e Icaro, oltre il volo and Agamennone, the production completes a programme that reimagines the great figures of classical mythology as powerful reflections on contemporary society. Daedalus and Icarus, Agamemnon and Circe transcend time to confront enduring questions surrounding the individual and society, destiny and free will, vulnerability and redemption.
CIRCE: LE ORIGINI forms part of the programme of Armonie del Mediterraneo – Viaggi, Miti e Ritorni, conceived and promoted by the Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Heritage Agency, in collaboration with the Municipality of Lecce, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Tourism through the National Tourism Fund (FUNT) – 2025 Current Expenditure Programme (Project Code CUP F89I25002020001).
