Phaedra in Flames

Phaedra, the wife of Theseus, King of Athens, is exhausted.
Exhausted from years of masking her desires, from playing the role of a queen adored by the people, and from living in the shadow of her husband — the hero who once defeated the Minotaur. She no longer seems to belong anywhere. She feels like a mere ornament, an extension of her husband. Surrounded by the solid walls of the palace, she finds herself trapped.

The arrival of a new bride in the kingdom — the captivating Persea — turns everything upside down. Phaedra seems to enter a labyrinth and, after a long sleep, awakens. She grows bolder and begins to remember what she had long forgotten: herself.

In a world consumed by the struggle for power, where religious and state authorities hold control, Phaedra’s pursuit of happiness becomes a deadly weapon.

Through a contemporary interpretation of the Greek myth, writer, playwright, and director Nino Haratischwili explores the relationship between human freedom and social norms, political and religious intrigues, and the cost of personal awakening.