What’s the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
In a touching piece of verbatim theatre, the crew of Bear Pit Theatre take turns telling tales of xenia, a term coined by the ancient Greeks to mean the sacred duty of hospitality to strangers.
Opening with an imagined monologue from a depressed-at-the-state-of-the-world Zeus, Tales of Xenia quickly moves from fiction into fact, with the actors recounting real stories collected from real people.
Clever writing and assembly of transcripts result in the recorded anecdotes savvily cut into pieces and puzzled together in such a way that the vignettes form around and complement each other, rather than potentially present themselves disjointedly. Thoughtful staging and physicality add to this, setting a fluid pace to the piece and illuminating the varied moments of connection between strangers, from a women’s refuge to a haven for Ukrainian refugees, from a Krakow nightclub to a Russian ballet, from a London tube ride to an Afghan battlefield and more.
Props are utilised purposefully; the actors apply mainly stools and Bunraku puppetry, efficiently leveraged to highlight the narrative rather than clutter the piece. iPhones as recorders are brought out at key moments, showing the speakers assuming the settings by which their subjects noted their stories, illustrations which are aided by the myriad accents and language employed.
Dotting in musings from philosophers that range from the optimistic to the cynical, this supplementary creative commentary woven around the yarns makes the argument that altruism isn’t just a wistful notion, but that hospitality and kindness are innate to our biology. “We’re far better suited to being nice to each other,” one actor summarises.
After all, the mark of human evolution isn't the opposable thumb, but the repaired femur, evidencing the point at which we as a species first sidelined our own self-interest to aid another.
Ultimately, Tales of Xenia is hopeful and uplifting storytelling which calls upon its audience to adopt a ‘pay it forward’ mentality and to reflect upon their own encounters with foreign generosity, encounters that have acted as signposts in their own lives. The truths told won’t all be the most outlandish, extraordinary Good Samaritan legends you’ve ever heard, but maybe that is the point: ordinary, everyday goodwill exists, boundless, all around and inside of humanity. This moving work is a shrewdly timed, pared-back piece of oral history that asks us to lean into the best of ourselves like we'd lean into a good story.
Tales of Xenia tickets: here
28 Aug | 15:15
Suitability 8+