about

On an island where the tensions between native and newcomers run high, a seed of love is planted that may just break the cycle of the seasons.

The Hades & Persephone Project leads audiences down to the Underworld and back again in a centuries-long journey through love and violence, myth and truth, life and death, flowering and withering.

Devised by a team of international artists, The Hades & Persephone Project uses three myths of interracial romance as its starting point, each of which have left an indelible mark on Sicilian culture: Hades & Persephone (as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses), Mata & Grifone (a popular Sicilian folklegend), and Lisabetta & Lorenzo (a tale from Boccaccio’s The Decameron). The production explores the connective tissue between these echoing tales of forbidden love.

Trinacria uses its signature blend of community engagement and physical theatre to tell deeply personal, local stories for global audiences. The Hades & Persephone Project is a new theatrical work devised and created collaboratively with the Sicilian community whose myths inspired the piece. The performance combines imaginative physical storytelling, minimal technical elements, and music to lead audiences through a powerful, poignant melding of myths.

development history

Work on The Hades & Persephone Project began in London in early 2019 with the support of CLF Art Café in Peckham.
Artistic Team: Mariagrazia La Fauci (lead artist), Jordan Peters (deviser), and Olivia Skoog (deviser).

Development continued during Trinacria’s 2019 Artist Residency in Pezzolo, Sicily which focused exclusively on the Hades & Persephone myth. At the conclusion of the residency, a work-in-progress sharing was presented at the Villa Melania Cultural reFactory in Pistunina, Messina at sunset on August 4th as the final performance of their inaugural season.
Artistic Team: Kat Alix-Gaudreau (deviser), Sean Devare (deviser/composer), Elena Kritter (deviser), Mariagrazia La Fauci (lead artist), Max Sklar (deviser/dramaturg), Olivia Skoog (deviser).

Further development was completed in winter 2019 through the support of LAMDA.
Artistic Team: Sam Adebayo (deviser), Sanda Bourenane (deviser), Iyvon E. (dramaturg), Mariagrazia La Fauci (director), Marco Nanetti (deviser), Anna Oggero (producer), Olivia Skoog (deviser).

In spring 2020, The Hades & Persephone Project received public funding from the National Lottery Project Grant through The Arts Council of England. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was postponed to July 2021. This R&D and workshop was performed at the Drayton Arms Theatre in London and presented in partnership with COMITES Londra, The Italian Cultural Institute of London, The British-Italian Society and The Italian Bookshop.
Artistic Team: Samuel Adebayo (deviser), Sanda Bourenane (deviser), Iyvon E. (dramaturg), Nic Farr (designer), Alex Kais (deviser), Mariagrazia La Fauci (director), Daria Miyeko Marinelli (story editor), Heriberto Montalban (movement consultant), Marco Nanetti (deviser), Anna Oggero (producer), Olivia Skoog (deviser), Otto Skoog (music)

Press

Comites Londra
TempoStretto
TGME
Messina Today
Lettera Emme
Nuovo Soldo
Messina Oggi
Messina Ora
Messina Magazine

Contributors

Samuel Adebayo (deviser)
Kat Alix-Gaudreau (deviser)
Sanda Bourenane (deviser)
Sean Devare (deviser/composer)
Iyvon E. (dramaturg)
Nic Farr (designer)
Felicity Green (fundraising consultant)
Alex Kais (deviser)
Elena Kritter (deviser)
Mariagrazia La Fauci (director)
Daria Miyeko Marinelli (story editor)
Heriberto Montalban (movement consultant)
Marco Nanetti (deviser)
Anna Oggero (producer)
Jordan Peters (deviser)
Max Sklar (deviser/dramaturg)
Olivia Skoog (deviser)
Otto Skoog (music)