A Lesson in other kinds of love

Agapi and Other Kinds of Love is a culture clash between ancient and modern Greece from the pen of Luka Lesson, a Greek Australian rapper, hip hop artist and poet.

The play will be on at  the Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres for two nights only and promises to push the boundaries of what you ever thought about Ancient Greece and modern Athens.

It examines the different aspects of love as proposed in Plato’s Symposium, which include agapi, the word for love and affection, and in modern times, a girl’s name.

Lesson’s play begins with ancient Greek philosopher Socrates speaking at a banquet about love, and then takes the audience on a journey as time and space collapse to beats, rhythms and spoken word.

It’s a bumpy ride as the ancient and modern world’s collide in their quest for love and the desire to find reconciliation. 

“My project combines the seven different words for love from Ancient Greece, and in particular Socrates speech from the Symposium and his mention of Diotima, who Socrates said taught him everything about love,” Luka Lesson, playwright and actor said.

“From these two inspirations the writing took off.”

Lesson grew up in inner Brisbane surrounded by his family, grandparents and other Greeks, and it was his desire to explore the culture that has led him to put a modern spin on an ancient culture.

“Growing up in and around the West End in the ‘70s to the 2000s, anytime that you stepped into the front garden you smelled the basil and a garden full of produce from the islands and their traditional places, and it is almost like walking into a consulate of Greece,” Lesson said.

“As I grew older I started to learn about my culture on my own terms.

“Going back to Greece as an adult and importantly as an artist really did transform me and I started a conversation with who I am as a Greek person, as well as an Australian person.”

It was in Athens that Lesson came across a Greek hip hop group called Active Member, who had created a new political and social conscience form of the music and story telling that is more about the poet than the rapper.

“I have been lucky enough to be able to collaborate with them over the years and I ended up giving James Humberstone (musical director) a rough guide to low bap and get him to make beats as one component of the show,” Lesson said.

“He did research on the modes and we also have sections about Chaos and Cosmos, who are primordial gods.”

Humberstone, an experimental musician who works at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, also wrote the music for the two performers in the show, Greta Kelly and May Lyn Chew.

“They are both playing a lot of instruments and triggering the beats.” Lesson said.

“In many ways Greta represents Ancient Greece and May Lyn represents the modern world and the two musicians combine the two.”

Agapi and Other Kinds of Love is a not to be missed opportunity to witness one of Australia’s best story tellers use the ancient and the modern to combine these two worlds into an exciting theatrical work.

Agapi and Other Kinds of Love is supported by La Boîte Theatre, Beach Festival and the National Museum of Australia.

February 29 – March 1

Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Cnr Market and Church Sts, Parramatta

riversideparramatta.com.au