Persians. Triumph of Empathy, Chokri Ben Chikha / NTGent & Action Zoo Humain

Director Chokri Ben Chikha examines the empathic capacity of six performers. Do they succeed in perceiving a decades-old highly polarised conflict differently through the lens of a Greek tragedy? Persians. Triopf van Empathie is a unique theater production directed by Chokri Ben Chikha. In this performance, he explores with six performers how they can show more understanding and empathy in a conflict that has lasted for decades: the conflict between Israel and Palestine. They do this by examining one of the oldest plays in history, The Persians by the Greek playwright Aeschylus. This play is about a war between the Greeks and the Persians, in which the writer himself fought against the Persians. The central question is: Did Aeschylus have empathy and understanding for his enemy, or did he primarily want to demonstrate how superior the Greeks were? By posing these questions, the performers seek connections between this ancient story and the current genocide in the Middle East.