Englisch / Anglais / English
Job is a rich and happy man, who is tested when he loses everything he has. His story is unsettling, exploring questions about suffering that are not readily answered. The speeches that the biblical Job makes at his lowest point, seated on a dunghill, were familiar to medieval people because they were read at funerals: in medieval Europe, folktale versions of Job’s story developed that included elements such as the protagonist’s association with music. The narrative English poem that will be performed here reflects that tradition, and, as Cathy Hume has argued, was probably written to be spoken aloud, accompanied by music, dancing, and acrobatics. This production reimagines such a performance with plenty of juggling and acrobatic action!
It will be followed by a staged reading of an Islamic version of the story of Job, or Ayoub, from the Iranian ta’ziyeh tradition (translated into English). In this version, the suffering man’s wife is given a more prominent role, and emphasis is placed on religious duties to feed the hungry and welcome the refugee.
