Perzen. Triomf van Empathie. - Action Zoo Humain

One of the spearheads of theater company Action Zoo Humain, artist in residence at NTGent, is to confront Western cultural heritage with the reality of a polyphonic world. Led by Chokri Ben Chikha, the performers look at the long-term conflict between Israel and Palestine through the lens of the oldest tragedy in the theater canon: The Persians by Aeschylus. Did Aeschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, write about the Persians with genuine empathy or did his tragedy confirm the superiority of the Greeks? What parallels can we draw between past and present?

In this multidisciplinary theater performance, Ben Chikha challenges the young generation to sharpen their personal, political and artistic visions based on the two most important elements of tragedy: empathy and pride. The ordeal is heightened by a polyphonic choir of Palestinians and Israelis who were interviewed by Ben Chikha when he was in that region in January 2024. Persians. Triumph of Empathy. thus balances between art and reality, opportunism and empathy.