Nostophobia
Nostophobia refers to the intense and irrational fear of returning home or going back to a familiar place. It derives from the Greek word nostos (homecoming) and can be understood as the opposite of nostalgia. The work builds on Rogério Nuno Costa’s latest theatre performance, Itinerary: geology of a homecoming (2025), which was written, devised and rehearsed during a 50-day slow journey by sea and by land between Helsinki, where the artist lives, and Lisbon, where he used to live.
The project followed an inventory of creative methods attentive to ideas of sustainability, ecological footprint, and territorial impact, all converging around one question: how can hospitality be practised in times of climate crisis?
Nostophobia intends to deepen that inquiry, by proposing the reverse journey undertaken in
Itinerary, this time from Lisbon back to Helsinki. It is about
the tragic impossibility of finding home outside the perpetual movement of leaving and arriving. It is about prospecting a homeless future.
A combination of lecture, performance, and an installation of photography, drawing and sound,
Nostophobia aims to develop a durational live act performed by Rogério and different guest artists in each iteration, taking place in alternative performance venues, domestic spaces, and moving non-spaces (ferries, buses, and trains).
An auto-fictional fable exploring themes such as perdition, belonging, radical mobility, affiliation, and the politics of the intimate, the domestic, the convivial, and the sacrificial,
Nostophobia seeks to write an ode to errancy, embracing both displacement and stillness not as catastrophic withdrawals but as acts of resistance. To paraphrase (and distort) Jack Halberstam's title: "the queer art of not even trying".
Nostophobia explores loneliness, slowness, and silence as spaces where wonder and transcendence can emerge.
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Premiere date: 2027
Further Reading:
Itinerary: geology of a homecoming (website)
Inhabiting a stage (interview with André Barata)
Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (project's page)
STAGES - Sustainable Theatre Alliance for a Green Environmental Shift *
* STAGES was an EU-funded international theatre experiment (2022–2025) reimagining how the cultural sector can respond to the climate crisis. At its core was a radical model of zero-movement touring. Alongside artistic experimentation, 14 partner organisations used Doughnut Economics to examine and transform their environmental practices, buildings, and working conditions. The project also fostered dialogue between artists, scientists, academics, and local communities through workshops, residencies, and open labs. Rogério Nuno Costa was one of the guest artists/researchers invited by Portugal's Teatro Nacional D. Maria II to join the project, a 3-year endeavour that culminated in the performance "Itinerary: geology of a homecoming". The performance, its process and results, methodologies and lessons, were discussed during the final STAGES Forum in Riga, Latvia (November 2025) and subsequently gathered in the ETC Casebook, contributing to a growing body of practical knowledge for a more sustainable performing arts sector.
Ulysses
(Journey Log, 2025)
The journey was designed around stops at all the STAGES project partners, most of them theatres (Stockholm, Riga, Vilnius, Berlin, Budapest, Zagreb, Maribor, Milan, Lausanne, Liège, Ghent, Paris, and Lisbon), where moments of encounter-as-performance were activated with theatre teams, resident artists, and other cultural agents. Additional performative and documentary actions, organised independently, took place in cities along the routes between these destinations: Warsaw, Prague, Ljubljana, Venice, Bologna, and Luxembourg. The following documental exercise was built during the trip and published on Instagram, the last post being shared on the day of the premiere of Itinerary: geology of a homecoming in Lisbon (November 2025).
Foyer
Ferry Helsinki-Stockholm
Baltic Sea, off the coast of Tammisaari
Finland
25 August 2025
19:54 (GMT+2)
Folha de Sala
(programme leaflet)
Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern (Dramaten)
Nybroplan, Stockholm, Sweden
26 August 2025
13:16 (GMT+1)
Aviso de Entrada
(Entry Announcement)
Stena Line, Norvik Port (Ferry Stockholm-Ventspils)
Nynäshamn, Sweden
26 August 2025
20:05 (GMT+1)
Ingresso
(Ticket)
Vecpilsētas iela, Riga, Latvia
27 August 2025
14:21 (GMT+2)
Abertura
(A Festa das Musas)
Opening
(The Feast of the Muses)
Lietuvos Nacionalinis Dramos Teatras
Gedimino prospektas, Vilnius, Lithuania
28 August 2025
11:48 (GMT+2)
Ato I:
O Concílio dos Deuses
Act I:
The Assembly of the Gods
Border control: Lithuania-Poland
National Road 16, Sejny, Poland
29 August 2025
13:44 (GMT+2/GMT+1)
Ato II:
Partida de Telémaco
Act II:
The Departure of Telemachus
Marymont - Metro station
Ulica Juliusza Słowackiego, Warsaw, Poland
29 August 2025
18:15 (GMT+1)
Ato III:
Helena Apercebe-se da Semelhança de Telémaco com Ulisses
Act II:
Helen Notices Telemachus’s Resemblance to Odysseus
Uniwersytet Civitas (wcześniej Collegium Civitas), Palace of Culture and Science
Warsaw, Poland
30 August 2025
11:31 (GMT+1)
Ato IV:
Entretanto, Penélope Adormece e é Animada por um Sonho Enviado por Atena
Act IV:
Meanwhile, Penelope Falls Asleep and Is Heartened by a Dream Sent by Athena
Lehrter Straße, Berlin, Germany
31 August 2025
17:22 (GMT+1)
Interlúdio:
Presságio
Interlude:
Omen
Georg Elser's memorial (the man that almost killed Hitler)
Wilhelmstraße, Berlin, Germany
1 September 2025
15:15 (GMT+1)
Ato V:
A Construção da Embarcação
Act V:
The Construction of the Vessel
Train (Deutsche Bahn) Berlin-Prague
Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin, Germany
2 September 2025
10:58 (GMT+1)
Ato VI:
Atena Acalma a Tempestade
Act VI:
Athena Calms the Storm
Museum of Ethnography, Dózsa György út
Budapest, Hungary
5 September 2025
12:20 (GMT+1)
Ato VII:
Alcínoo Convoca uma Assembleia e Propõe Mandar Ulisses para Casa
Act VII:
Alcinous Convenes an Assembly and Proposes Sending Odysseus Home
Váci utca, Budapest, Hungary
6 September 2025
14:26 (GMT+1)
Segundo Interlúdio:
Homenagem
Second Interlude:
Homage
Tomb of Karl Maria Kertbeny
Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert
Budapest, Hungary
6 September 2025
17:18 (GMT+1)
Ato VIII:
Demódoco Canta sobre o Cavalo de Madeira, Ulisses Chora
Act VIII:
Demodocus Sings of the Wooden Horse; Odysseus Weeps
Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu
(Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb)
Trg Republike Hrvatske
Zagreb, Croatia
10 September 2025
14:01 (GMT+1)
Ato IX:
Ciclope Faz Perguntas que Ulisses Rejeita
Act IX:
The Cyclops Poses Questions That Odysseus Rejects
Zmajski Most (The Dragon Bridge)
Ljubljana, Slovenia
11 September 2025
18:49 (GMT+1)
Terceiro Interlúdio:
A Ilha Flutuante de Éolo
Third Interlude:
Aeolus’s Floating Island
Zattere al Ponte Longo
Fondamenta delle Zattere
Dorsoduro, Venice, Italy
12 September 2025
17:25 (GMT+1)
Ato X:
O Feitiço de Circe Falha
Act X:
Circe’s Spell Fails
Alexander Calder at Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, Dorsoduro
Venice, Italy
13 September 2025
16:02 (GMT+1)
Intervalo
Interval
University of Bologna, Italy
15 September 2025
19:47 (GMT+1)
Dança dos Fantasmas
The Dance of the Ghosts
Il Piccolo Teatro di Milano (Strehler)
Largo Greppi, Milan, Italy
17 September 2025
16:54 (GMT+1)
Rogerices:
Cena I
Rogerisms:
Scene I
Scuola di Teatro Luca Ronconi
Via Giorgio Strehler, Milan, Italy
18 September 2025
15:56 (GMT+1)
Falso Fim
False Ending
Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts
Lausanne, Switzerland
19 September 2025
17:28 (GMT+1)
Ato XI:
Chegada à Ilha de Calipso
Act XI:
Arrival on Calypso’s Island
View from Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne
(before the show)
Plage de Coulet, Lake Geneva
Lausanne, Switzerland
20 September 2025
14:22 (GMT+1)
Ato XII:
Convencido que Chegou a Casa, Ulisses Cumprimenta as Ninfas
Act XII:
Believing He Has Arrived Home, Odysseus Greets the Nymphs
Gëlle Fra, Place de la Constitution
Luxemburg City
22 September 2025
12:33 (GMT+1)
Quarto Interlúdio:
Reparações (Histéricas)
Fourth Interlude:
(Hysterical) Repairs
Hotel IBIS Styles Liège-Guillemins, Rue des Guillemins, room 605
Liège, Belgium
23 September 2025
16:06 (GMT+1)
Quinto Interlúdio:
Segundo Presságio
Fifth Interlude:
Second Omen
Le Plongeur et son Arc
Port des Yachts, Liège, Belgium
23 September 2025
17:57 (GMT+1)
Ato XIII:
Telémaco Chega a Ítaca
Act XIII:
Telemachus Arrives in Ithaca
Hotel IBIS Styles Liège-Guillemins, bar
Rue des Guillemins, Liège, Belgium
23 September 2025
21:24 (GMT+1)
Rogerices:
Cena II
Rogerisms:
Scene II
Salle de l'Œil Vert, Théâtre de Liège
Place du Vingt Août, Liège, Belgium
24 September 2025
11:45 (GMT+1)
(Falso) Momento Didático
(False) Didactic Moment
CONDOMINIUM
(lecture/performance/breakfast), at Salle de l'Œil Vert, Théâtre de Liège
Place du Vingt Août, Liège, Belgium
26 September 2025
09:37 (GMT+1)
Ato XIV:
Após um Momento de Espanto e Dúvida, Telémaco Reconhece o Pai
Act XIV:
After a Moment of Wonder and Doubt, Telemachus Recognises His Father.
CONDOMINIUM
(lecture/performance/breakfast), at Salle de l'Œil Vert, Théâtre de Liège
Place du Vingt Août, Liège, Belgium
26 September 2025
09:50 (GMT+1)
Ato XV:
No Salão de Banquetes, Começa a Festa da Lua Nova
Act XV:
In the Banqueting Hall, the Feast of the New Moon Begins
Boulangerie Artisanale Talmaître
Rue d’Alésia, Paris, France
27 September 2025
15:14 (GMT+1)
Psicobiografia do Herói Perdedor
Psychobiograhy of a Losing Hero
Hot-air baloon Paris-Amares
Orly, Paris, France
28 September 2025
16:13 (GMT+1)
Casa de Partida
House of Departure
Bridge over the Cávado, Amares, Portugal
10 October 2025
19:05 (GMT)
Viagem Inaugural: 1996
Inaugural Journey: 1996
Braga Train Station, Portugal
12 October 2025
12:21 (GMT)
Ato XVI:
Penélope Reconhece Ulisses
Act XVI:
Penelope Recognises Odysseus
Burnay Palace (formerly the Institute of Social and Political Sciences), where Rogério Nuno Costa studied (1996–2000) and where he began his journey into the arts and crafts that would lead him to Perdition. Photograph taken by Rogério Nuno Costa from the balcony of the apartment where he is staying during the weeks of preparation for Itinerary: geology of a homecoming. Rua da Junqueira, Lisbon, Portugal.
15 October 2025
08:50 (GMT)
Vou A Tua Casa
I'll Come To Your House
Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, fire of 1964, photographed by Diário de Notícias. The theatre would reopen to the public in 1978, the year Rogério Nuno Costa was born.
Praça D. Pedro IV (Rossio), Lisbon, Portugal
2 December 1964
Before dawn (GMT)