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Iphigenia In Aulis
| Opening Date |
17 June 2011 |
| Closing Date |
2 July 2011 |
| Time |
8.15pm |
| Duration |
1 hour 40 mins (no interval) |
| Director(s) |
Andy Hinds |
| Writer |
Andy Hinds |
Cast
|
Michael Bates, Lesa Thurman, Aoife Moore |
| Ticket Price |
€16 - €20 |
Venue
|
Cube
Project Arts Centre
39 East Essex Street
Temple Bar
Dublin 2 |
| Website |
www.projectartscentre.ie |
| Phone |
(01) 881 9613/4 |
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Family Dysfunction.
Having a bit of a personal penchant for the adventure, magic, and lust of Greek mythology, anticipation for Iphigenia In Aulis was high. The Odyssey and the likes are exhilarating tales of mortals getting into all manner of tangles with the supernatural, a sort of ancient equivalent to Harry Potter or Twilight one could say.
However, getting straight to it I found the play sadly underwhelming. At the theatre you expect to be engaged throughout, it’s all about the experience and how it made you feel, so when your mind starts drifting to whether you have enough milk in the fridge for breakfast you know you’re in trouble.
The story, by playwright Euripides, centres on Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek troops during the Trojan War. When the pesky goddess Artemis demands a human sacrifice to guarantee the victory of the Greeks, in his desperation he is compelled to comply. Despite a heartbreaking internal struggle he lures his soon to be slaughtered child Iphigenia to Aulis under the pretext of marriage to none the wiser demigod Achilles. His wife Clytemnestra uncovers the plan and does all she can to stop it. Dysfunctional families don’t get worse than this my friends.
Look, to be fair most of the central performances were quite good but there was just something missing. Considering the tragedy of the story I expected a bit more anguish, a bit more, I don’t know, something. I’m usually prone to blubbing but despite the grim subject matter this performance didn’t move me in the slightest.
The costumes just didn’t cut it for me either; I know money is probably an issue but the cast’s getups were too modern with little evidence of the Grecian excesses of rich deeply coloured materials and heavy gold jewellery you would expect. Maybe I’m nitpicking but seeing pumps and clothes which looked suspiciously from Penneys was a little off putting, especially when the play is supposed to be set in 406 BC.
Despite my criticisms this is a classic play and writer and director Andy Hind’s has done a good job in producing a concise yet all encompassing version of the tale. The cast’s voices rang clear and true and they made a commendable and intelligent effort to communicate this story to the audience. I would primarily recommend it however to give audiences a taste of Greek mythology and not through any conviction of its excellence.
- Cynthia Bifolch |
