Complex and beautiful all at once, love is a multifaceted emotion with endless descriptions in English alone.
But, with both sides of his family being Greek, poet and rapper Luka Lesson knew that there were many more words for love, as many of them continue to be used in the language today.
It’s for this reason that when he was commissioned to make a solo theatre show before the pandemic, the concept of ‘Agapi & Other Kinds of Love’ came to mind.
Initially, this show was based on the idea of a book with chapters of poems about different types of love. However, it grew into a more narrative form, taking audiences on a journey through these ancient Greek types of love through the eyes of ancient lovers Socrates and Diotima and their modern counterparts Pavlos and Sophia, after reading Plato’s The Symposium.
“There’s a speech in Plato’s Symposium where Socrates says that he learned everything he knows about love from a woman named Diotima, and she’s pretty much lost to us, we don’t know much about her, but I thought it was crazy that the greatest philosopher of all time arguably was giving all the kudos to a female philosopher or sage that would teach him everything he knows about love,” he said.
“I decided to make her a full character, and to discuss the ladder of love that they discuss in The Symposium and combine that with the ancient Greek types of love.”
But, as with many things, the pandemic caused a shift in production for Lesson, with both original commissioning parties no longer able to bring the show to life.
However, this only made him more excited to get it done – no matter what the form.
“I was so in love with it that I ended up finishing it myself, and roping in my friend James Humberstone who composed all the music for it,” he said.
“Parallel to finishing the show, I was also turning it into a verse novel, so we ended up publishing the verse novel first, and now we’re in the throes of the tour of the show.
“It was a funny process, because both things were developing at the same time, as well as the music. Eventually, it will be a verse novel, and a show, and an album. It’s an interesting way to play with my creativity, to see how it comes out the other end in three different forms.”
Though he admits it was tricky to create a show which is part rap, part poetry, and part history lesson, Lesson said ‘Agapi & Other Kinds of Love’ has ended up as a prime example of edutainment, hoping that audience members will have learn plenty.
“My desire with this show is just to get people to have a wider vocabulary of love,” he said.
“We need it, and we need it in these times more than ever, and if they leave the show with a few more words to talk about the nuances of love and discuss that with their friends and families, then I think my job will be done.”
‘Agapi & Other Kinds of Love’ will be at Riverside Theatres on Thursday, February 29 and Friday, March 1 at 7pm. Visit riversideparramatta.com.au.
Cassidy Pearce is Parra News' entertainment journalist and beauty columnist. She is a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney.