On Thursday, the 1.st December, a few students of the Classical Gymnasium of the High school ,,Walther von der Vogelweide ́ ́ went to Innsbruck to visit a play, that was called Aeneis. Toni Bernhart, an author from South Tyrol, rewrote this epic, which is one of the greatest works of European literature.
It was performed by the free theater scene in Innsbruck (an association of 7 smaller theatrical formations). It was an interactive play and the audience was split into four different groups, and each of them watched the play in a different order. Every scene was performed in a different room. During the main scenes the whole audience was brought together. The whole play was about Aeneas and his escape from the Trojan War. Aeneas is considered being the prototypical refugee, which provides a parallel to the current refugee situation. The free theatrical scene deliberately used this parallel.
At the end, there is an important question: is the message of Aeneis appropriate for the current refugee problem?
The answer is no, because the ancient epos focuses too much on war and violence.
Bernhart tried to make up our mind and inspire us to think about new ways to handle the changing society.