Agapi & Other Kinds of Love // Tour
“Redefining the bounds between poetry and theatre”
★★★★
Sydney Arts Guide
Agapi & Other Kinds of Love
at the Art Gallery of New South WalesWhat is Agapi & Other Kinds of Love?
Agapi & Other Kinds of Love is a poetry and Hip-hop theatre show inspired by the 7 Ancient Greek words for love.
Written and performed by poet & rapper, Luka Lesson, the show is equal parts rap concert, poetic musical & classical history lesson.
Combining lyricism, lighting, projections and music Agapi & Other Kinds of Love shows us how love prevails despite the trials and tribulations of the ages.
The music was composed by James Humberstone of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The project premiered at the National Museum of Australia in 2022.
Who is Luka Lesson?
Luka Lesson is a Greek-Australian poet, former Australian Poetry Slam Champion, Hip-hop artist and history-obsessed wordsmith who can’t keep his hands off the classics. Luka has featured at the Mecca for slam poetry: the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe (NYC), been commissioned by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, facilitated writing workshops for hundreds of schools and universities including Athens University (Greece) and Latrobe University (Melbourne) and toured with respected UK rappers Akala & Lowkey. Luka's work has also been featured in publications such as: Southern Sun: Aegean Light (2011, ASP), Poems From A Green And Blue Planet (2019, Hachette UK), and Solid Air (2019, UQP). Luka has been a poet-in-residence at the Scottish Poetry Library, appeared at the Edinburgh Literature Festival, Sydney Writers' Festival, Hong Kong Literature Festival, Ubud Writers' Festival and many more.Luka has always used poetry and rap writing workshops as a form of activism, helping young people to articulate and perform their work for the past 15 years, amplifying countless marginalised voices in the process. Luka's poems and rap verses are being studied on official school curriculums throughout Australia, and unofficially by rebellious educators worldwide.What Are People Saying About Agapi & Other Kinds of Love?
“The performance itself was fabulous. Everything about it, the text and music were brilliant.” — Audience Member
“This was one of the highest calibre and most transformative live performances I have attended in my life.”— Audience Member
“An innovative and intriguing show merging hip-hop beats with music for ancient instruments” — South Sydney Herald
“A mix of rap, hip-hop, poetry and music, reminding me of Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Hamilton'"— Theatre Thoughts
“A glorious spectacle of story, song, colour & sound. Simply magical.” — Audience Member
“Brilliant, creative, explosive…
A voice for our humanity.”— Audience Member
Upcoming Agapi Shows
Adelaide
Alice Springs
Canberra
Bellingen
Melbourne
“A voice and a presence capable of casting and holding a spell”
★★★★
Sydney Morning Herald