Elefsina can be known for many things but most of us recognize it as the
city of the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries and the birthplace of Aeschylus. It
was known as Eleusis at the time. The municipality of some 30,000 inhabitants
northwest of Athens is sufficiently developed to be named the European Capital
of Culture for 2021.
One of the reasons for the honour being bestowed may be the annual
Aeschylia Festival which is celebrating its 45th year. It takes
place from August 25 to September 28 this year bringing a wide range of
cultural events to the city. Included are a number of productions by the major
theatre companies of Greece. I was able to see Euripides’ Iphigeneia at Aulis in a performance by the National Theatre of
Northern Greece. The production had already been was seen in Thessaloniki and
Epidaurus and is currently touring other parts of Greece.
The Greek fleet, the famous one thousand ships, are gathered to be
launched to rescue the beautiful Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta.
She was abducted by Prince Paris of Troy and the Greeks want revenge. But the
fleet cannot sail because the goddess Artemis is angry with Agamemnon, the leader
of the expedition. She demands that he sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia.
He hesitates but eventually relents and asks his wife Clytemnestra to
bring their daughter to Aulis on the ruse that Iphigeneia will marry the great Greek
hero Achilles. There is much conflict as may be expected and Iphigeneia is eventually
sacrificed willingly. The state of the text is uncertain and she may not have
been sacrificed but spirited away by the goddess with a deer taking her place.
We are not sure, but we do eventually find her in Tauris.
The production is played in the converted yard of an old soap factory,
the Palaio Elaiourgeio. Risers are installed in a semi-circle and the playing
area is covered with a powder of dirt.
Director Yannis Kalavrianos adds his own touches to the production some
of which work, and many seem unfortunate. When the performance begins we see a half-naked
man with the blue head of a deer over his face enter the playing area and leave
two microphone stands. The deer is associated with Artemis, goddess of the
hunt, and this “deer” will remain on stage throughout the performance.
At one point he is seen playing happily with Iphigeneia at the back of
the playing area while the other characters are interacting. At the end, he
shows up at the sacrificial altar and takes off the deer head.
Thought-provoking, no doubt, but what does it all mean?
Kalavrianos’ handling of the Chorus is all over the place. They are
young, married women from Chalcis, a city across the bay from Aulis. Their
movements or dances if you want to be generous are not synchronized and they
are seen running around the playing area for reasons that escaped me. A one
point the stage is turned into a disco area with a couple of members going to
microphones and belting out songs.
Iphigenia (Anthi Efstratiadou) goes from delicious happiness to disbelief
and horror, to acceptance of her fate. That is a huge emotional upheaval for a
young girl. Efstratiadou handles her role superbly. She is playful with her
loving father, shocked at her fate and on her knees begging him not to kill
her. Near the end when she accepts her fate she starts sounding like a
politician cheering on the troops to fight and sacrifice their lives for love
of their country and for glory. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. Is
there no irony in what she is saying? Is a declamatory style of best way to
deliver these lines? Is there n o other emotion except jingoism for her to
express?
Most of the lines spoken by the main characters including the Old Man
(Yorgos Kafkas) and the Messenger (Christos Stylianou) are delivered in a
declamatory style from a firmly standing position. More vocal modulation,
physical movement and interaction may have helped the tone of the entire
production.
And may I mention something in passing. Delays in starting a performance
are not unusual and there may be good reasons for them. But if you keep an
audience waiting for over half an hour, they are entitled to an explanation, at
least, and even an apology. Nothing was offered.
___________________
Iphigeneia at
Aulis by Euripides, translated by Pantelis Boukalas, was performed on September
6, 2019 at the Palaio Elaiourgeio Elefsinas, Elefsina, Greece.
No comments:
Post a Comment