A Greek legend re-told in beautiful song
Reviewed in the Adina Treasury Tunnels at the Adina Apartment Hotel on 16 February 2019
Presented by Athens Productions Loucas Loizou
Loucas Loizou’s life story could rival that of Odysseus. He was born in Cyprus and while away on holiday in 1974, his island was invaded and he could not return home. He studied music at Trinity College in London and directing at NIDA in Sydney. With his wealth of experience and his multi-lingual abilities, he truly is a citizen of the world.
Tonight’s performance was in the Treasury Tunnels which provided great acoustics for his guitar and atmosphere for Loizou’s story telling and songs. Dressed in a white chiton he is Odysseus, towards the end of his life, retelling the stirring tales of his part in the Trojan War. A cue for a song is the death of Patroclus. Achilles, his great friend is heartbroken and believes his life too is over. Odysseus’ (Loizou’s) song reminds us all that it is better to have loved and lost the loved one, than never to have loved at all.
He also sings about not feeling unlucky or hard done by as long as we have eyes to see and feet to walk with. A very appropriate sentiment for Odysseus as his incredible journey back to his loving wife Penelope takes ten long years and is peopled with gods, goddesses, cyclops, witches and sirens – to mention just some of the obstacles he faces. There is a hint of a wicked glint in his eyes and a chuckle in his voice as we hear about Odysseus being entrapped by Calypso and being forced to be her lover for seven years, only breaking free when she is commanded to release him by Zeus.
Loizou has a great sense of timing and, as an old man would, he ‘forgets’ the name of particular islands and as he stops to ‘recall it’, the clever pause draws us in to his narrative. The final two songs particularly resonated with the audience – We Shall Overcome and Kumbaya My Lord which we all joined in singing.
This is a family friendly performance and well worth seeing.
Reviewed by Jan Kershaw
Venue: 1.Balcony Rooms at Buckingham Arms Hotel – Fringe Lodge,1 Walkerville Tce, Gilberton
- Upstairs Function Room at The British Hotel Port Adelaide 13 North Pde, Port Adelaide
3.Adina Treasury Tunnels at Adina Apartment Hotel, 2 Flinders St, Adelaide
- Fedora’s Restaurant at Hilton Hotel, 264 South Rd, Hilton
Season: 1. 17 Feb, 1-2 and 10-11 March at 6pm 2. 22 Feb at 6pm 3. 16 Feb, 8-9 March at 6pm - 15-16 March at 6pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $25.00 Concession: $20.00
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