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Author
Aeschylus
Producer
Kit Productions
Director
James Kerr
Performers
David Oyelowo
Brian
Poysner
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Sound
Theatre
16
August - 13 September 2005 |
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There's
no way of escaping the fact
that Aeschylus's
Prometheus
Bound
is one of the most powerful
dramas in the Western canon.
By some, it is regarded as
one of the most potent dramatizations
of protest and cries for freedom.
For others it is a drama about
the passing of generations.
Prometheus, a god gifted with
foresight, witnessed the brutal
overthrow of the Titans by
the young upstart Zeus. In
turn, he foretells Zeus will
himself be overthrown, but
he will not name the successor.
What he sees is a cycle of
events, perhaps a perpetual
and inevitable cycle. Zeus
will be overthrown from within
as his new-found power will
become softened by wisdom
and tempered by justice.
Aeschylus is also a fighter
for mankind against the gods.
He brought fire to humans,
a symbol of life, warmth and
enlightenment: fire symbolic
and real. For this too he
must be punished, though some
gods think not so. But Zeus
is now all-powerful and must
be obeyed as Hephaestus points
out in the first scene.
Such a powerful play needs
a powerful production, and
it gets this in full measure
in James Kerr's new production
at the Sound Theatre in Soho.
His new translation is pithy
and sparse, which suits the
granite qualities of the play,
hewn from rock. It is less
Shakespearean than old verse
translations, but it has many
telling lines and good ear
for spoken rhythm. He describes
Zeus as the 'the new enthroned
Lord of all" and Prometheus's
fate as "punishment waits
upon the man whose tongue
is too free."
Written lines in the theatre
are nothing without actors
to speak them, and here too
the new production is resonantly
successful. At the heart of
play and of the production
is David Oyelowo who stands
near-naked and enchained and
from this position dominates
the play. His first utterance
is a sustained groan and a
rattling of his shackles.
He roars against his destiny.
He also finds different shades
of speaking to address the
modest Oceanus, the fraught
Io and the aggressive Hermes.
Oyelowo's magnificent performance
entirely justifies Hephaestus's
reluctance to carry out the
commands of Zeus.
Hephaestus is superbly played
by the oldest actor in the
cast, Brian Poysner, who also
doubles as Oceanus. He brings
a quiet contemplation to his
roles. The play is spoken
loudly, but Poysner brings
quietness and dignity. He
is cast excellently and he
brings a kind of wistfulness
to his roles that suggests
a great cycle of events being
played out again and again.
He's seen all and has learnt
to forgive all: to see, as
they say, a wider picture.
Poysner's two roles were beautifully
portrayed.
James Kerr decided to avoid
choral speaking (for the most
part) and to allow different
members of the chorus to speak
different lines. This slightly
changes Aeschylus's emphasis
on the corporate, anonymous,
reaction of the chorus. Instead
a kind of random 'vox pop'
emerges. This works and the
chorus is mostly played by
young actors and people on
the brink of their careers,
sometimes not even that. This
must have been a powerful
experience for them in which
to take part.
Michael Dixon's Force and
Hermes are the antithesis
of Brian Poyner's two roles.
Aggressive, direct and obedient,
he epitomized the 'new idea'.
He was a paid up member of
the reforming party and recognized
that no one should stand in
the way of 'progress'. Dixon's
sense of being a new executive
was also a telling part of
the team effort of this production.
Hayley Attwell as Force and
later as the terrified Io
brought to the latter a moving
hysteria and a sense of being
controlled by forces greater
and more mysterious than she
could control. Prometheus
comforts her by part prophecy
and together they superbly
paced the emotional progress
of their encounter.
Prometheus
Bound
is a play about ideas, about
a god who is punished by gods
and "did wrong willingly".
It is right that the stage
should be almost bare but
for the crucifix-like chains.
Prometheus is a great symbol
of injustice and of protest,
and the starkness of the stage
and the spareness of movement
allowed the ideas to shine
through with great force.
This is a production you would
be foolish to miss.
Roderick Swanston |
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