Actor's Nausea > Plays > Metamorphoses
Mary Zimmerman's "Metamorphoses"
Summer 2010
"And so man was born. He was born that he might talk."
M. Zimmerman, Metamorphoses
The stories we tell ourselves speak of lives we could have led; gifts we could have received; suffering we could have endured. Age after age they are told, in different forms, but always carrying the same messages. They speak of our passions, our greed and pride and doubts. And they speak of our love, flowing like water, and how it can change us, transform us into new shapes. These stories tell us who we are, "faces set not to gaze at the dirt beneath our feet but upward toward the sky in pride or, perhaps, nostalgia."
M. Zimmerman, Metamorphoses
Mary Zimmerman's award-winning play Metamorphoses, based on selected episodes from Ovid's verses, explores the human condition beyond its shimmering surface, whose motions only let us glimpse at the depths below. Like water, the element central to the play, the episodes shift in mood and atmosphere; sometimes calm, then violent or dreamlike, but always unstoppable. Allegoric, highly emotional and touching, Zimmerman's play cast a light on how we perceive ourselves and the passions that drive us.
With Metamorphoses Actor's Nausea is venturing into hitherto uncharted territory. Both in staging and acting it presents a new and exciting challenge that we are happy to take on. Metamorphoses is our 16th play in ten years.
Directed by:
Sarah Bingham
Cast:
Creation/Midas
Woman by the Water – Andrea Schmitz
Scientist/Narrator – Antje Schumacher
Zeus – Tilman Floehr
Laundress/Narrator – Elisabeth Kuth
Laundress/Narrator – Kirsten Anders
Midas – Thomas Erlinghagen
Midas' Daughter – Sonja Kellermann
Servant – René Glebke
Silenus – Ben Sonntag
Bacchus – Jonas Freiwald
Ceyx and Alcyone
Alcyone – Néomi Havinga
Ceyx – Tilman Floehr
Poseidon – Jonas Freiwald
Poseidon's Henchman – René Glebke
Aphrodite – Anke Bauer
Iris – Christina Anders
Sleep – Johanna Schewior
Lucina – Miriam Piel
Hermes – Matthias Scherf
Erysichton
Erysichton – Thomas Erlinghagen
Spirit of the Tree – Lea Scheer
Ceres – Kirsten Anders
Oread – Julia Glock
Hunger – Sonja Kellermann
Erysichton's Mother – Franca Bülow
Buyer – Richard Jung
Orpheus and Eurydice
Eurydice – Antje Schumacher
Orpheus – Tilman Floehr
Hermes – Matthias Scherf
Hades – Ben Sonntag
Persephone – Anna Ravenstein
Vertumnus and Pomona/Myrrha
Vertumnus – Jan Winkler
Pomona – Miriam Piel
Myrrha – Christiane Heetkamp
Cinyras – Ben Sonntag
Nursemaid – Cordula Ulbrich
Phaeton
Phaeton – Jan Winkler
Therapist – Tanja S. Romich
Apollo – Richard Jung
Eros and Psyche
Q – Néomi Havinga
A – Julia Fink
Eros – Ben Sonntag
Psyche – Miriam Piel
Baucis and Philemon
Woman at Door – Lea Scheer
Baucis – Julia Fink
Philemon – René Glebke