Musical performance

The myth of Oedipus epitomises Greek tragedy: abandoned by his parents as a child, Oedipus unknowingly kills his father Laios and equally unsuspectingly becomes the husband of his own mother Jokaste, with whom he has children including Antigone. When Oedipus discovers the truth from the blind prophet Theresias, he blinds himself and Jokaste hangs herself.

With »Oedipus loves you«, the company Pan Pan has created a witty piece in the style of a docu-soap. A kind of television family à la Simpson or Bundy lives in a bungalow, in which Oedipus somewhat oafishly grills sausages and Jokaste, the frustrated wife, lolls about in red satin. In the home of Theresias the psychiatrist, they all form a live rock band. Based on the tragedy of »Oedipus Rex« by Sophocles and writings by Sigmund Freud, Pan Pan takes a radical, intelligent and highly ironic look at mechanisms of repression and anxieties of the present.

The company Pan Pan was founded in 1991 by Aedín Cosgrove, who was born in Cork in 1966, and by Gavin Quinn, who was born in Dublin in 1969. It has made a name for itself far beyond the borders of its own country. Guest performances have taken the company to countries including France, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In 2006 they worked with great success in Beijing. »Oedipus loves you« is the first guest performance from Ireland at the euro-scene Leipzig.

»This production was a visual delight, a sensual piece of art with a bright cast and production team … It tells the timeless tale with quirky freshness by inviting us into the seedy underground and morally corrupted world associated with rock« (Liv Monaghan, University Record, 07.11.2006, Dublin).