Jan Fabre - Troubleyn

In his latest major theatre production, Jan Fabre returns to the myth of Prometheus. In his view, this tragic Greek hero epitomises independence. Prometheus was a rebel who took action against the laws of the gods following his own beliefs. He stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mortals. This angered the gods. The myth describes how Prometheus was bound to a mountain in the Caucasus and how an eagle ate a piece of his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten the next day. Fabre establishes a link between this ancient myth and Stanley Kubrick's film 'Full Metal Jacket'. This film is set in Vietnam War. Young soldiers are made to suffer terrible indignities because of their superior officers' perverted enjoyment of power. The individual is destroyed ruthlessly and mechanically in drill exercises. Ultimately the soldiers are no more than a chorus willingly and enthusiastically reeling out battle songs. Fabre's central question is: Prometheus may have brought fire to mankind, but what has it done with the fire?