Lemnos

Abstract

The full text of Lemnos (2022) is reproduced here. The play is a contemporary adaptation of the myth of Philoctetes, conceived by Giorgina Pi in collaboration with the Bluemotion company. Produced by the Teatro Nazionale di Genova, ERT, and TPE, the play delves into the neglected history of the Greek islands used as concentration camps during the civil war (1946–1949), focusing in particular on Makronisos, where political dissidents were subjected to “re-education” through the enforced veneration of classical antiquity. In Pi’s dramaturgy—developed together with dramaturg Massimo Fusillo—Philoctetes is transformed into a female figure, portrayed by Gaia Insenga. The cast also features Giampiero Judica (Ulysses), Aurora Peres (Deus Ex), Gabriele Portoghese (Neoptolemus), and Alexia Sarantopoulou (The Chorus). The work interweaves Sophocles’ text with contemporary poetry by Adrienne Rich, Derek Walcott, and Yannis Ritsos. Direction, video, and set design, all curated by Pi herself, are complemented by the soundscape created by the Angelo Mai Collective, incorporating field recordings made on Makronisos.