Persians: Triumph of Empathy Chokri Ben Chikha / NTGent & Action Zoo Humain

One of the spearheads of theatre company Action Zoo Humain, artist in residence at NTGent, is to confront Western cultural heritage with the reality of a multi-voiced world. Led by Chokri Ben Chikha, the performers look at the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine through the lens of the oldest tragedy in the theatrical canon: Aeschylus' The Persians.

Did Aeschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, write about them with genuine empathy or did his tragedy instead affirm the superiority of the Greeks? What parallels can we draw between past and present?

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Persians. Triumph of Empathy  thus balances between art and reality, opportunism and empathy. In the multidisciplinary theatre performance, Ben Chikha challenges the young generation to sharpen their personal, political and artistic visions on the two main elements of tragedy: empathy and pride. The ordeal is made all the more acute by a polyphonic chorus of Palestinians and Israelis who were interviewed by Ben Chikha when he was in the region in January 2024.