Sex, gods, violence and blood wait in Hertford Bop Cellar, in a gripping and innovative interpretation of The Bacchae, returning from a tour of the UK and California. It is well worth watching, in part for some very good choreography, and in part due to a mesmerising turn from the actor playing Dionysius.
Unfortunately I didn't have a programme, so I don’t know the director’s name, but the take on the text was great, especially because the cast of six had to represent the hordes of followers the god obtains. The piece is based around physical theatre, with the long speeches of Greek tragedy split between the actors, and brought to life. The four Bacchants, also playing Tiresias, Autonowe, Cadmus and Agawe, perform most of this, and do it very well. The movement is slick and exhilarating, and sometimes horrifying, especially during the death of Pentheus.
The cast are mostly very strong. The slightly smaller parts of Tiresias and Autonowe are performed solidly, and both actors are convincingly delirious in the frenzy of the Bacchae's rituals. Cadmus and Agawe both gave good performances, managing the final grieving scenes well, though both characters seemed a little simplistic, and could do with being realised more intricately. The actor playing Pentheus sometimes strayed over the top in his portrayal, especially earlier on, but was at times both effective and affecting. He, like the others, is outshone by Dionysius. The character seizes the audiences attention through charm and seduction, but the actor grasped the minutiae of his part far more than the others on stage, and delivers a powerhouse, unravelling the contradictions and terrifying extremes of the god in a spellbinding and eventually devastating way.
It’s a play worth seeing, and a performance from an actor you won’t forget.
Unfortunately I didn't have a programme, so I don’t know the director’s name, but the take on the text was great, especially because the cast of six had to represent the hordes of followers the god obtains. The piece is based around physical theatre, with the long speeches of Greek tragedy split between the actors, and brought to life. The four Bacchants, also playing Tiresias, Autonowe, Cadmus and Agawe, perform most of this, and do it very well. The movement is slick and exhilarating, and sometimes horrifying, especially during the death of Pentheus.
The cast are mostly very strong. The slightly smaller parts of Tiresias and Autonowe are performed solidly, and both actors are convincingly delirious in the frenzy of the Bacchae's rituals. Cadmus and Agawe both gave good performances, managing the final grieving scenes well, though both characters seemed a little simplistic, and could do with being realised more intricately. The actor playing Pentheus sometimes strayed over the top in his portrayal, especially earlier on, but was at times both effective and affecting. He, like the others, is outshone by Dionysius. The character seizes the audiences attention through charm and seduction, but the actor grasped the minutiae of his part far more than the others on stage, and delivers a powerhouse, unravelling the contradictions and terrifying extremes of the god in a spellbinding and eventually devastating way.
It’s a play worth seeing, and a performance from an actor you won’t forget.