Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In an unlikely feat of intimacy and obsessive rigor, Joseph Medeiros brings Book 1 of THE ODYSSEY to theatrical life … in Ancient Greek

• By drediman
• May 31, 2023
• No Comments

I recently had the opportunity to immerse myself in certainly one of the most unique and unlikely theatrical experiences I’ve had all year. In an unassuming, enclave-like private apartment in Jackson Heights, performer Joseph Medeiros has taken it upon himself to theatrically animate Book 1 of Homer’s layered epic The Odyssey (a segment entitled Telemachus at Home). This may not seem at all astonishing until you consider that Medeiros accomplishes the feat in the original Anciet Greek and performs the piece for an audience of only three per show. A typical retelling of the well known tale this is not.

Experiencing Homer’s sprawling masterpiece in its original tongue (at least the beginning of it) isn’t as daunting as you might think. With a level-setting prelude to help (re-)acquaint audiences with the work’s plot and characters, as well as occasional clues and check-ins along the way to help audience members mark their progress through the narrative, Medeiros ensures that the experience is both accessible and illuminating without downplaying the obsessive rigor of his deeply impressive accomplishment.

Although not immediately apparent when you enter the space, he’s rigged his tiny apartment to supplement his performance (more on that below) with ingenious visual coups that transport the viewers to the epic’s various locales and emotional/psychological states. As you can imagine, in such impossibly intimate environs, very little gets in the way between you and The Odyssey. As such, it’s all but impossible for audience members to not viscerally respond to the piece. The experience is made all the more immediate by the theatrical connections Medeiros makes between the text and his own personal history. It’s the kind of thoughtfully handcrafted theatrical experience that encourages one to re-evaluate what it is that constitutes theater. 

With the hospitable and gracious Medeiros at the helm, I assure you that you will be in expert hands. Medeiros is a generous, emotive performer who all but disappears into the text and characters, riding the musicality of the percussive cadence of the Ancient Greek language. In many ways, the waves of sound he creates brings memories of Elizabeth Swados’s seminal The Trojan Women rushing back to me. Indeed, as performed by Medeiros, it becomes clear that The Odyssey is part of an oral tradition that’s meant to be heard and not read.

With Book 2 already in the repertoire and Book 3 on the way, Medeiros seems to be on his way to conquering the entirety of The Odyssey. What a monumental accomplishment that would be.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ODYSSEY 1: TELEMACHUS AT HOME
Off-Broadway, Play
The Cave
Approximately 2 hours (without an intermission)
Ongoing