A new short film by Thomas Briat documents the second phase of The Legend of Europa, the international theatre project supported by Creative Europe. After the first residency in Sligo, artists gathered in Bologna in July 2025 to deepen their creative exploration.
This new chapter shifts the focus toward Athens, not as a geographical setting, but as a symbolic and political reference point. For the Italian team, Athens represents the birthplace of democracy: the city of Pericles, of public discourse, of justice, inclusion, and civic participation. Yet, the film makes it clear from the outset that these ideals are not treated as fixed truths, but as tensions to be questioned.
The creative process documented in the film places strong emphasis on collective physical work. Rather than relying on text, the group develops choral scenes where the body, rhythm, and atmosphere become central. Storytelling emerges through movement and presence, often prioritizing emotional and spatial dynamics over linear narrative.
At the core of the material lies a simple but powerful figure: an individual standing alone against the group. This image becomes a metaphor for a possible young European today: isolated, overwhelmed, and struggling to find a place within broader social and political structures.
The theme of youth is further explored through the idea of dreams, not as personal ambitions or superficial desires, but as collective utopias. The participants reflect on how young generations might still imagine and pursue a more just political and social environment, even within systems that often fail to include them.
Fragments of classical Athenian discourse are reworked and embodied, evoking a model of democracy based on equality, openness, and access to justice. At the same time, these ideals are implicitly contrasted with contemporary Europe, where questions of inclusion, migration, and rights, particularly within queer and hybrid identities, remain unresolved.
The film also captures moments of improvisation and devised performance, where irony and discomfort coexist. In one scene, a young figure is welcomed with exaggerated enthusiasm, only to reveal underlying tensions of belonging and exclusion. In another, time constraints and repetition become part of the dramaturgy, exposing the pressure and fragility of the creative process itself.
Beyond the stage work, real-life circumstances enter the project in a direct and unfiltered way. Issues of borders, visas, and mobility affect the presence of some participants, making the theme of migration not just conceptual but lived. At the same time, a moment of celebration, one artist obtaining Italian citizenship, becomes a powerful counterpoint, highlighting both the limits and possibilities of European identity.
Throughout the film, a recurring statement emerges: a rejection of borders and rigid definitions, and an embrace of differences as a source of strength. This idea runs parallel to the artistic process itself, which is built on collaboration across languages, cultures, and perspectives.
The Bologna residency ultimately reveals a project that is less interested in providing answers than in exposing contradictions. Democracy is not presented as an achievement, but as an unstable practice; Europe not as a unified entity, but as an ongoing negotiation.
As the artists prepare to continue their work across future phases, one challenge becomes clear: how to sustain a shared vision even when physically apart.
Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw1fm8purO0
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