Idomeneus
‘A promise is a promise. A promise is a promise.’
Idomeneus, King of Crete, has killed his son. Or maybe not. Maybe he's let his son live, but angered the gods in doing so. Or maybe the person he thinks is his son is an imposter. Maybe his real son actually turned into a talking, shape-shifting sea-creature and is back to have a heart-to-heart. Or maybe it's all true, all at once. A kaleidoscope of monsters, mythmaking and sudden, striking humor, Roland Schimmelpfennig’s smash-hit Idomeneus details the end of a war between nations and the beginning of a war between reason and superstition. Idomeneus makes a promise to the gods, and what comes next is a fractured, mythic tidal wave, brought to life in an inventively staged quest-story.
Roland Schimmelpfennig is one of the most produced European playwrights. His plays have been translated into over 20 languages. At present he is the resident playwright at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. In 2010, Schimmelpfennig was awarded the Mühlheimer Dramatists Award for his play The Golden Dragon. Schimmelpfennig also received the highest Playwriting Award in Germany, the Else-Lasker-Schüler-Prize, to honor his entire oeuvre.
David Tushingham’s translations include: Mr. Kolpert, The Woman Before, Waiting Room Germany, Stranger’s House (Royal Court), The Golden Dragon, Arabian Night, Jeff Koons (ATC) and State of Emergency (Gate Theatre). He has worked as a dramaturg for numerous high-profile European institutions and is currently Artistic Advisor to the Salzburg Festival.