The concept.

By conflating the stories of Ted Hughes and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the latter is seen refracted through the commonly known biographical detail of Hughes’s life, but in a way that brings renewed depth to Hughes’ story and renewed relevance to Ovid’s.

Through this simple step, out of the ashes of Ovid’s archaism a whole new story can rise: A story about fantasy in the purely Freudian sense: revolutionary, pre-civilization, but fantasy that is not alienated from our day to day life but entwined within it- resultantly we hope to show how Greek myths are relevant since they inform our current dreams, actions, and unconscious thought patterns.

· The stories of Metamorphoses are only connected through narrative in the loosest sense – this refraction imposes a framework around them that makes them more digestible to a modern, theatre going audience who will expect a story.

· By bridging the gap between domestic/ biographical drama and mythic fantasy we hope to elevate banal, daily life to the level of epic fantasy.

· Encourages the audience to exercise their imagination and extend their fantasy vocabulary.

· Investigate from the perspective of literary criticism and psychoanalytic theory what in Hughes private life drew him to this ancient work, selecting only the twelve stories that he did and interpreting/ translating them in this way.

· Highlighting the mythic status we imbue on (among others) literary celebrities.

· From a purely practical setting- this concept allows us to achieve many of the transformations stipulated in the stage directions but in a symbolic manner, using household furniture – E.g. when man and woman become one in Hermaphroditus and Salmacis this can occur behind a shower curtain e.t.c.