The Hero with a Thousand Faces

A performance engaging senses beyond sight

Do you know Joseph Campbell? No? And yet we have all seen a movie or two about a hero who leaves home, undergoes extraordinary adventures, and returns as the bearer of a secret.

In his life’s work, most notably The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell outlined the story of all stories: the monomyth — a narrative structure shared across cultures. It is also the template for every other Hollywood blockbuster. That is why these films sell out... but where is the contemporary hero? Is it in you? In me?

No. The hero has become a consumer, the sword a smartphone, and the angel’s proclamation a notification. The hero no longer brings light into a darkening world, but tries — in the music of nightlights — to remember what it feels like to be… oneself.

But all is not lost. The owl of Minerva takes flight only at dusk.