Thebans: Theatre Babel; Edinburgh Fringe

Thebans by Liz Lochhead after Sophocles and Euripides: Theatre Babel: Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) till 24th August 2003

0131 226 0000 www.edfringe.com

The whole story turns out something less than the sum of its partsTheatre Babel and Liz Lochhead have given Greek classics a vigorous Scottish shock, bringing a new vital vision of the oldest of human tales to our stages. In the latest instalment they have mixed Sophocles and Euripides together in a canter through the unhappy lives of the House of Atreus.

This adaptation, because of the foreshortening, is strong on the way that the driving force of politics makes fools of even the most sensible people. It is also this element that seems most relevent to today's audience; we recognise the feebleness of Oedipus' plans for open government. What is missing is the sense of the powerlessness of humankind as fate and the Gods grind their inevitable way to conclusion, a sense that comes slowly and in measured terms in the originals.

It is however not the fault of the adaptation that the audience is left floundering at this show, but the production. A small cast all take the major roles, so have to keep leaving the chorus in the lurch; sometimes it is reduced to four, by which time time we do not believe they are the citizenry of Thebes, more like a corner-shopfull. So few voices militate against contrast and variety.

The production is very static. There is simply not enough to look at. Two pillars are used as screens for (non moving) pictures, and it is a fatal error to paint a 3 metre circle on the floor and confine the acting to that.

Costumes do little to make characters stand out, although Ismene's clumsy black bridesmaids dress is an aberration in its total inappropriateness.

The perfomances are variable, with the best coming from the women. Jennifer Black's Jokasta is statuesque and has stature, while Rebecca Rodgers makes more of Ismene than the usual wet who makes up her mind too late.

This show makes these essential stories harder rather than easier to understand, and although Lochhead can summon up a directness that is often missing from more academic adaptations, this is an evening without the energy, fire and terror that have ensured their survival for so long.

Jennifer Black; Jokasta
Peter Collins; Oedipus, Polyneikes
Barrie Hunter: Corinthian, Guard
John Kazek; Kreon
Lucianne McEvoy; Antigone
Bill Murdoch; Theban
Rebecca Rodgers; Ismene
Ian Skewis; Eteokles, Haemon
Vari Sylvester; Tiresias

Director/Designer Graham McLaren
Lighting Kai Fischer
Sound Ian Jackson

2003-08-13 14:40:19