The Iliad

Add to Calendar 20260719 20260719 Europe/London The Iliad

Tickets

£18

Location

The Acorn, Penzance

Dates

Sun 19th July, 2026
7:30 pm

About this event

Post-war homecoming: the great warrior Odysseus, returning to his father's house

Odysseus has returned home — the suitors are dead, Penelope and Telemachus restored to him, and peace should follow. Yet the war still lives inside him. As he journeys to his father’s house, Odysseus tries his old disguises, but before Laertes’ grief, every trick falters. For the first time in twenty years, he is simply a son — no hero, no king — seeking counsel and forgiveness.

But ghosts walk beside him. Achilles’ shadow looms large: the rival who chose death and glory where Odysseus chose survival. Now, facing his father, he wonders if he has truly come home. Between rage and remorse, pride and tenderness, the old warrior must ask the question no victory can answer: How does one return in mind, not just in body?

This powerful retelling of The Iliad (also drawing on other ancient sources) brings together the stories of fathers and sons, grief and legacy, and the cost of heroism. At its heart lies a single, timeless struggle – to lay down the sword and find peace after war.

A haunting, human story of homecoming and healing — Odysseus as you’ve never seen him before.

Contact

01736 363 545 | https://www.theacornpenzance.com/events/the-ghost-of-achilles/