On June 9th, 411 BC, in Athens, the first democracy ever known to humankind is abolished indefinitely. It has existed for exactly one hundred years. The instigator is the flamboyant politician and military commander Alcibiades — the most handsome man in Greece. Extravagant, androgynous, brilliant, and controversial.
On May 23rd, 2023 AD, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer publishes his monumental novel ALKIBIADES. With masterful skill, Pfeijffer depicts the astonishing rise and fall of the historical figure Alcibiades. This adventurous epic of Homeric proportions is a journey through time, back to a world nearly 2,500 years ago, ‘when more and more symptoms—alarmingly familiar to us—began to signal the decline of democracy and ultimately led to the defeat of Athens.’
On October 17th, 2025 AD, Zuidpool premieres its stage production of ALKIBIADES. In a radical adaptation of the novel, Alcibiades looks us straight in the eye and accounts for his actions, his life, and his struggle. Was he the populist who dismantled democracy? Or could he have been its savior? At the same time, he holds up a confronting mirror. Are we aware of the fragility of our democracies? Is the people truly capable of knowing what is good for the people?
None other than acclaimed actress Sofie Decleir brings to life one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures in world history. A poignant tale set in a world where concepts like ‘truth’ and ‘fact’ seem to have become mere abstractions, and where the democratic contract we have forged together threatens to be broken at any moment.
