PHAEDRA'S LOVE. 16-26 November.
London
PHAEDRA’S LOVE
by Sarah Kane
Barbican (The Pit) 16-26 November 2005
Mon-Sat 7.45pm
Post-show talk 23 Nov
Runs 1hr 20min No interval
TICKETS: 0845 120 7511
www.barbican.org.uk (reduced booking fee online)
Review: Stewart McGill 1 November 2005 at Bristol Old Vic
Devastating
Despair… the theme of Sarah Kane’s reworking of Seneca’s Phaedra suggests the torment that was to rob us of a thrilling young genius. So appropriate that Bristol Old Vic should remount this work in the city where she studied at Bristol University. Kane is a cult figure on the European theatre scene where her work is often revived, yet, here in the UK, it is something of a rarity.
This hour long take on Seneca is a devastating piece of work that pulls few punches. The despairing Phaedra (Diana Kent) pours her soul out for Hippolytus (Laurence Penry-Jones) in a powerfully, ferocious display of lust, longing and loss of self only to be driven to suicide by his rejection. Their world has no hope, no relationship that means anything, even language has become bankrupt.
Anne Tipton’s production in the Studio places spectator in a shared space with the actors for an intense and often disturbing deconstruction of emotions. There is a moment of beauty as Phaedra’s funeral pyre consumes her, a short pause before a finale of graphic horror and extreme violence which has given Kane, perhaps an unfair reputation. Yes, the images shock and the language is strong, yet within this play there is an analysis of longing, loneliness, emptiness and ultimate despair.
The Young Genius season in Bristol and London has captured the artist in embryo and enabled audiences to revalue work in the light of t heir subsequent developments. Sarah Kane did not live to become ‘establishment’, it is fascinating to muse on how her work may have found its place on our stages today and regret the loss. Phaedra’s Love is a play of darkness and deep loneliness. Apt.
Hippolytus: Laurence Penry-Jones
Phaedra: Diana Kent
Strophe: Alexandra Moen
Doctor/Priest/Policeman 2: Brian Hickey
Theseus: Dan Mullane
Woman 1: Zara Ramm
Man 1: Stuart Crossman
Policeman 1: Craig Anthony
Additional Cast Members: Kate Mayne, Emily Moore, Sophie Williams, Children: Jem Brownlee, Maria Montague.
Director: Anne Tipton
Designer: Naomi Dawson
Lighting: Emma Chapman
Sound: Gareth Fry
Assistant Director: Alex Sims.
2005-11-04 19:32:53