Theatre Royal: New Gods

Simon Armitage presents a modern day reframing of The Odyssey at Theatre Royal Brighton

Co-produced by English Touring Theatre and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, The Odyssey will run from Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 Oct at Theatre Royal Brighton.
A high ranking government minister with a colourful past is sent on a delicate diplomatic mission to Istanbul. But when his trip ends up in a horrific bar room brawl, social media explodes and the enigmatic darling of a political party becomes Europe’s most wanted man overnight.
Chased by the authorities, damned by religious leaders, pursued by those looking for vengeance and head-hunted by fanatics, his Odyssey begins.
Plunged into the ancient past Odysseus must now contend with all the unworldly beings and unnatural phenomena that stand in his way. The Cyclops, the Sirens, witches, whirlpools and flesh eating armies must all be overcome in the struggle for survival and the long voyage back to the present day. Back at home, with her husband missing presumed dead, his wife Penelope and their young son are besieged by the press,
ravenous for the full story.
Simon Armitage, Oxford Professor of Poetry, has published nine volumes of poetry. He has won numerous awards and prizes and been shortlisted for the Whitbread Poetry Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize. Armitage’s 2012 non fiction book Walking Home, an account of his troubadour journey along the Pennine Way, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the 2012 Portico Prize.
Associate Director of Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Nick Bagnall directs. Simon Armitage said “The new gods sit in Whitehall and Downing Street, no less image-obsessed and power-hungry than their ancient counterparts, and a latter day borderless Europe forms the backdrop to Odysseus’ travels, to a journey that begins at the confluence point of East and West, a place of conflict from the Siege of Troy to the present day.”
Tues 27 – Sat 31 Oct Eves 7.45pm
Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm
www.atgtickets.com/brighton
0844 871 7650*
*(bkg fees apply)