“In Orfeus, Bailey searches out softer tissue, our vulnerabilities, the marrow in our bones, the chasms in our souls. He uses not our fears but our sympathies for the blind, the forgotten, the broken and the voiceless in order to torture us.”
– MAIL & GUARDIAN

“The fading light, the scent of woodsmoke and wildflowers, and the sound of birdsong weave themselves through… haunting soundscapes to multiply the sensory and emotional impact of this quirky Orfeus… A gem in this year’s Holland Festival.”
– FINANCIAL TIMES

“The King of the Underworld wearing a pith helmet, and tapping away on a laptop, is the image of the calculating indifference and greed. Around him is the detritus of corruption in the developing world – used syringes litter the floor, behind him boxes of United Nations food aid and four masked sex slaves, like blow up dolls, tied to chairs…”
– MAIL & GUARDIAN

‘ORFEUS is a meditation on the creative principle that makes order out of a world of fragments, revealing the underlying beauty that fades away as suddenly as it appears.’ – Brett Bailey

Orfeus: the first poet-musician. His music is so sweet it brings harmony to the natural world and stills the inner conflicts of all who hear it. The beautiful Eurydice is awakened by his song, and they fall in love. But on the night of their marriage a snake kills her, and the heart-broken Orfeus sets off on an epic journey to find her.

In this haunting, ritualistic performance the audience accompanies Orfeus into an Underworld of African sorrows where he encounters lost souls trapped in eternal torment: children in sweatshops, the merchandise of human trafficking, men tortured in forgotten cells… 

THE PERFORMERS
Orfeus Bebe Lueki
Narrator Jane Rademeyer
Eurydice Ndumi Zweni
The Guide Andile Bonde
The Frog Abey Xakwe
And, in various productions: John Cartwright, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Xola Mda, Mxolisi Bosvark, Nicholas Ellenbogen, Faniswa Yisa, Bongile Mantsai, Nomhle Moyakhe & Graham Clarke

Production Manager Barbara Mathers
Technical Manager/Set Builder Iain North
Stage and Company Manager Justin Green

“Before Orfeus
There was no music
No songs
No tunes
Nothing to hum when you’re happy or sad
There were gunshots and there was weeping
There were hisses and growls
The cold ringing of fear
The clatter of laughter
A dull buzzing that went on forever
But music?
If there was we could not hear it
He brought us music
Taught us to sing
And slowly we began to understand”