text Sofocle
translation in  Morse code and composition Demetrio Castellucci
production Settantaventidue (Milano), Unarcheology (Vilnius)

Tracking Satyrs into Morse is a sonic staging inspired by Sophocles' satyr play The Trackers (Ichneutae), which has reached us in fragmentary form from an Egyptian papyrus and is here translated into Morse code. Dialogues, plot developments, and the lacunae of the ancient papyrus are reinterpreted through a musical score based on pulses, pauses, and signals, transforming Morse into a compositional and dramaturgical tool. The myth recounts the theft of Apollo’s cattle by the newborn Hermes. The satyrs, led by Silenus, set out to search for the animals' hoofprints, but they discover confusing tracks, scattered in opposite directions to mislead the search. In front of a cave, they hear the sound of a lyre—the instrument just invented by Hermes from a tortoise shell and cowhide, proof of the theft. At the point where the papyrus breaks off, the performance imagines the return of Apollo, his listening, and the final exchange: the cattle in return for the lyre, destined to become his instrument.

Tracking Satyrs into Morse is part of the Lithuanian Culture in Italy 2025–2026 program. The Lithuanian Culture in Italy 2025–2026 program is organized by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Italian Republic.