Minos
King of Crete
An old man. Cunning and cerebral and a heavy drinker. He has not slept in years and he keeps his reasons close.
“My law is colder than the depths that crush.”
A chamber tragedy in five scenes
TheMinotaur
a new play by
L.B. Deyo
Winner of the 2026 Austin Theatre Critics Award for Outstanding Original Script
“All men wander dark mazes to their deaths.”
IThe Play
A king who cannot sleep. A hero who volunteered to die. A princess who defies a king to arm his enemy. And beneath the palace, in the dark, something that was somebody's son.
Synopsis
- Running time
- Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission
- Setting
- The island kingdom of Crete, in the mythic age of Greek prehistory.
- Advisory
- Contains depictions of violence and discussion of sexual assault. Recommended for ages 16 and up.
Crete, in the mythic age. King Minos sits awake in the gloom of his throne room, drinking, because tomorrow the long ships arrive from Athens carrying tribute: seven sons and seven daughters, to be sealed into the Labyrinth and fed to the thing that lives beneath the palace. The monster is his wife's child. He calls it his bull.
Among the victims is Theseus, prince of Athens, who was not chosen but volunteered. In the dungeon that night he is visited first by the king, who has a story to tell him, and then by the king's daughter — Ariadne, the finest seamstress in the kingdom, who has never once laid eyes on her brother. What passes between them in the hours before dawn sends a hero into the dark with a sword, a length of yarn, and a debt he does not yet understand.
The Minotaur is a chamber tragedy in five scenes about the parts we are handed and the parts we agree to play: inherited guilt, the price of innocence, and the version of events the victors are content to let the world sing.
Each of us has a role to play. Ours is to rule. Theirs is to die. These roles were parceled out to us long, long ago. It is for us only to play them as best we can.
IIDramatis Personae
Four in the dark
Ariadne
Daughter of Minos
In her early twenties. Subtle of mind, earnest of heart. The only soul in the palace who presses the king on the story he tells about their family — and the only one willing to act on the answer.
“That sword is not mine.”
Theseus
Prince of Athens
Hero of Athens. Youthful, sinewy and brave. He took another man's place in the tribute and cannot fully say why.
“All heroes are fools.”
Asterion
The Minotaur
A great, strong man with the head of a bull. Born in the sunlit world, walled in before he could remember it. In the maze he is absolute.
“Mine is a universe of walls. And mine it is.”
Cast, director and design team to be announced
IIIFrom the Script
Pages
Act II, Scene 2 — The Labyrinth
Asterion(Offstage)
I was not born here, but here is all I remember. Of the grass and the trees I know only hanging roots. Mine is a universe of walls. And mine it is. Here I am absolute. For a long time, I never saw the sky. Still, I seldom see it. But from time to time I wander through a portion of the labyrinth that has no roof. When I first happened on this portion, it confused my eyes. The stars in their parallax seemed to me to be the torches of an approaching host of enemies. I cursed the stars, and still do. The stars were made to taunt me. I wish that I could tear down the firmament and seal it with me here in my maze.
Theseus(To himself)
A maze that grows like a vine, tangling into itself.
Act II, Scene 1 — Minos' dungeon
Ariadne
Could I call myself innocent while I let a monster eat your living guts?
Theseus
Listen to me, daughter of Minos. Your innocence is a quality blessed by heaven. It is a pearl beyond price. You would throw it away, which could never again be yours. It is a lightness in your heart that you cannot feel except to miss it when it's gone forever. It is the butterfly: once it feels the rough touch of a hand on its wing, it can never fly again.
Ariadne
This is the wisdom of a fool.
Theseus
This is the wisdom of a man who has killed.
IVPerformances
March 11 – 27, 2027
- Thu8:00 PMOpening NightTicketsTickets
- Fri8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Sat8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Sun3:00 PMMatineeTicketsTickets
- Thu8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Fri8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Sat8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Sun3:00 PMMatinee · Talkback with the playwrightTicketsTickets
- Thu8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Fri8:00 PMTicketsTickets
- Sat8:00 PMClosing NightTicketsTickets
Curtain is at the time listed; the house opens thirty minutes prior. For groups of ten or more and press inquiries, please send word.
VThe Playwright
L.B. Deyo
Winner 2026
Outstanding Original Script
Austin Theatre Critics Award
L.B. Deyo is a playwright based in Austin, Texas, and the winner of the 2026 Austin Theatre Critics Award for Outstanding Original Script.
His work returns again and again to myth as a machine for examining power — who gets to tell the story, who is quietly written out of it, and what the people at the center of it owe to the people they consume.
The Minotaur is his newest play.
VIVisit
Ground Floor Theatre
979 Springdale Road, Suite 122
Austin, TX 78702
Austin, TX 78702
- The theatre is fully wheelchair accessible with step-free entry and seating.
- Free parking is available in the lot on Springdale Road.
- Doors and the lobby bar open thirty minutes before curtain.
- The run opens Thursday, March 11 and closes Saturday, March 27.
Tickets
Seven sons and seven daughters go into the maze. Come and see who walks back out.
Get TicketsOn sale soon
VIIContact
Send word
Press and critics, group bookings, producers, or anyone who simply wants to say something about the play — send word here and it reaches the producers directly.
“I never know their names. I have no need of names. Their names are just bad air.”