He suddenly looks different, less bent, less old, less broken, what a strange man. Is there some magic here? Is he a wizard? Old man . . . No that's not right.
Telemachus' father left long ago to fight a war. Telemachus doesn't remember him. Now the man of the house, he must step up to defend his father's legacy and protect his mother from the suitors that lounge around the court.
Meanwhile, the great Odysseus has been trapped by the goddess Kalypso for ten long years. Lost in his memories of past glories, he longs to return home.
This timeless Greek myth has been reinvented by playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker to create a modern, rich and powerful new work about a son searching for his father and a father searching for himself that is, at the same time, an exploration of masculinity and the effects of war.
My Father, Odysseus received its world premiere at the Unicorn Theatre, London, on 13 March 2016. It is ideal for young people over the age of 11.