Agapi & Other Kinds of Love
Agapi & Other Kinds of Love is a poetic Hip-hop theatre project inspired by the 7 Ancient Greek words for love.
Written and performed by poet & rapper, Luka Lesson, the show is equal parts rap concert, poetic musical & classical history lesson.
Combining lyricism, lighting, projections and music Agapi & Other Kinds of Love shows us how love prevails despite trials and tribulations of the ages.
Luka's reputation as one of Australia's best storytellers shines as he then takes us on a journey through the kinds of love: Eros, Filia, Filoxenia, Philautia, Storgi, Pragma and the ultimate: Agapi.
Self-love, erotic love, familial love and more all collide with statues of Aphrodite, Molotov cocktails and the Parthenon's steps.
What’s the Story?
Agapi & Other Kinds of Love follows two sets of lovers in both ancient and modern Greece as they fall in and out of love and discover all seven of the Ancient Greek kinds of love together across time and space.
In Ancient Greece, Socrates is at Plato’s Symposium telling a banquet of poets, playwrights and friends about a mysterious woman named: Diotima, who taught him everything he knows about love.
In modern Greece, young students: Pavlos and Sophia, have fallen in love at first sight in the midst of a riot on the streets of Athens, amid uneasy political and economic upheaval.
In the small village of Mantinaea, Diotima prays at her altar, remembers her son, and straps on her leather sandals before walking on foot for days to the ancient city of Athens to see her ex-lover, Socrates, one last time.
The primordial gods: Chaos & Cosmos, watch over the two sets of lovers as they dance with destiny - until eventually, the time collapses, and the gods decide it is time to intervene.
Photography by Jeff Anderson Jnr
Agapi & Other Kinds of Love first premiered at the National Museum of Australia, during an exhibition of Ancient Greek artefacts entitled Ancient Greece: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes on loan from the British Museum.
The show has since featured at Sydney Greek Festival, Red Dirt Poetry Festival, Araluen Arts Centre: Alice Springs, Art Gallery of NSW, Byron Theatre, HOTA on the Gold Coast and more.
REVIEWS
“A voice and presence capable of casting and holding a spell”
★★★★
— Sydney Morning Herald Read More
“An innovative and intriguing show merging hip-hop beats with music for ancient instruments”
— South Sydney Herald Read More
“Redefining the bounds between poetry and theatre, and re-fitting the traditions of poetry”
★★★★
— Sydney Arts Guide Read More
“A mix of rap, hip-hop, poetry and music, reminding me of Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Hamilton'"
— Theatre Thoughts Read More
Photography by Jeff Anderson Jnr
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Agapi & Other Kinds of Love audiobook,
voiced by Luka Lesson.
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