Eros and Psyche – performance storytelling for adults

My second performance as Artist in Residence at The Swedenborg Society will be ‘Eros and Psyche’ for adults on Thursday 10th May at 7.00pm at Swedenborg Hall.

The writings of philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg seem to have been influenced by Platonic ideas and images. Swedenborg’s own search for truth, beauty and love has parallels with Plato’s discoveries. My performance of ‘Eros and Psyche’ is not a simple telling, instead I have woven  together the ancient myth, with Plato’s Symposium, and the life of Socrates.

Psyche’s search takes her from romance, to the edge of existence. She meets jealousy, despair, cruelty, lust, and hope. The myth exists in many cultures. The earliest written version is 2000 years old, written in Latin by Apuleius, and still captures the contemporary imagination with its questions about love, the soul, and the choice to live. These ideas originally came from Plato – a myth-maker who dressed truth up as stories and used hoary old Socrates to convey his ideas. Swedenborg wrote in Latin and must have come across Apuleius’s marvellous book ‘The Golden Ass’.

I have stripped back the myth to reveal hidden Platonic ideas, and use Plato’s raunchy and poetic ‘Symposium’ as  a counterpoint to Psyche’s quest. I evoke the life and character of Socrates, with his sharp humor and cutting mind. So that Socratic thought weaves through the myth, asking ‘what is the path of love?

I am looking forward to performing this piece for The Swedenborg Society,  because it is a place where pondering on the meaning of things, and asking questions, is at its  heart. My piece has humour and drama, and is, I hope, entertaining. But it is challenging storytelling, that requires concentrated listening. The Swedenborg Society is a venue that is not afraid of this demand.

 Psyche holds up her lamp and gazes at the sleeping Eros

a drop of oil scalds him, and love flies away

the eternal search for the beloved begins …

Eros and Psyche – performance storytelling for adults. Not suitable for children under 16.
10 May 2012, 7.00 pm
The performance is in two x 50 minute half’s.
Swedenborg Hall, 20-21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH.
Admission is free, but capacity limited, booking is essential.
Please book in advance:
nora@swedenborg.org.uk
0207405 7986.