Postdramatic and Multimedia Dépaysement : Myth and Migration on Stage and Screen in Christiane Jatahy’s Ithaque: Notre Odyssée 1

Abstract

Christiane Jatahy’s 2018 multimedia theatrical production Ithaque: Notre Odyssée 1 captures contemporary narratives of migration through a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey. To create this multilayered production, Jatahy interviewed refugees and worked closely with French and Brazilian actors to represent a variety of voices involved in the international migration crisis. Jatahy also captures the complexity of displacement through cameras that the actors use to film live video on stage. Drawing on Hans-Thies Lehmann’s concept of postdramatic theatre and Pasi Väliaho’s analysis of biopolitical screens, this article argues that the interplay between these filmed images and Jatahy’s unique staging choices reveals the contradictory nature of migration and displacement. By examining the double meaning of the term dépaysement, this article explores the opposing yet surprisingly harmonious relationship between multimedia technologies and classical drama that allows Jatahy to represent the various connections and disconnections migrants across the globe experience every day.