Death in the
Family
An Authentic Ancient Tragedy Kicks Off The 1999 London Festival of Greek Drama
By Amanda Castleman
The script is incomprehensible. The music is atonal and foreign.
The actors declaim stiffly on the minimal stage. Unlike many amateur productions
though, Choephoroi aims for these qualities. It’s all part of re-constructing
Greek tragedy in the ancient tongue, and the result is entrancing despite the
language barrier and foreign elements. After all, the play was written by the
grandfather of western theatre, Aeschylus, interpreting the famous tale of the
ill-fated House of Atreus.
As well as being part of the London Festival of Greek Drama, Choephoroi
(The Libation Bearers) is King College’s 40th production of its
kind. The play interprets the revenge of Electra and Orestes on their treacherous
mother, another link in a chain of family homicides.
Despite a intimidating academic CV — dead language, highbrow mythological
plot, complex and lengthy musical pieces — Choephori is not a dry,
ivory tower performance. Assistant director Louisa Petais fell in love with
the rarely-performed, archaic play years ago: "This is amazing drama. There
is so much sexual tension, especially in the reunion scene between Orestes and
his mother. And the recurring themes, such as light, darkness, blood on the
ground, revenge, justice, make the play very intense."
With so many lofty, eternal themes batting about, it is almost a relief that
the language is incomprehensible. Abandoning the dialogue allows the audience
to concentrate on the polar extremes of archetypal story and alien culture.
Executive producer Kareem Arafat dismissed concerns about accessibility. "Understanding
is no bar to enjoying a performance," the King’s professor said. "This
is darn good poetry conveying universal truths. Watching it can be initially
frustrating, but the language barrier does concentrate you on the bare bones
of the experience."
"There is equal opportunity for confusion," Franklin joked. "This
is not an exclusive exercise. Nobody, not even the most distinguished Classics
professors, will follow it entirely. Accept that you won’t understand,
and have your enjoyment begin at a different level."
Much like an opera or recital in German or Italian, the performers’ nuances
and delivery convey the meaning. Extensive (and free) programme notes augment
the harsh, rolling Greek phrases, laboriously memorised by the cast, most of
whom are students moonlighting from the King’s College Classics Department.
To its detriment, this performance clings to a rigid concept of ancient Greek
staging. Tragedy could be quite lively, with a chorus of young warriors dancing
in the centre of the amphitheatre. Yet the director has opted for the opposing
theory popular in modern Greece; static declamation. Sadly, this can veer toward
the wooden effect of an amateur ‘doing’ Shakespeare, as well as reducing
the much-needed clues to plot.
Nevertheless, Choephori’s cast should be forgiven if such scanty
research shadows an otherwise excellent production. Not all contributions are
academically anemic, though. The original score is an offshoot of three years
doctoral research into ancient Greek music. Music is critical to Choephoroi,
as the backbone of Aeschylus’s play is a 15-minute kommos, a ritual
summoning the venegeful ghost of Agamemnon. "I tried to make the overall
feel increasingly disturbing. The music begins solemnly and descends to madness."
The one light-hearted element of this production, however, is the dance mix
prior to the curtain. Intended as a bridge between the modern world and the
ancient performance, Franklin’s piece incorporates the oldest surviving
Greek music fragment with drum loops and digital mischievousness. As the programme
notes admit, it is a "shameless reinterpretation … whose trance-like
droning will suggest the driving, ecstatic madness of Orestes."
From ambient music buffs to ancient history dons, Choephoroi should draw
a diverse audience. Simon Coulson, who plays Orestes, summed up the play’s
appeal: "I don’t think the average punter would go for this, but anyone
— absolutely anyone — with the smallest interest in language, classics
or authentic drama will get a lot out of it."
Performances are at The New Theatre, King’s College: 2:30 & 7:30 (10
and 12 February); 7:30 (11 February) and 5:00 (13 February). All tickets are
£5 including programme. Telephone 0171 8732399 for booking or more information,
or email greekplay @kcl.ac.uk