The Libation Bearers
Aeschylus
While The Libation Bearers is one of the earliest full dramas ever performed
(458 BCE, as part of the trilogy The
Oresteia), its center
theme of violence begetting violence as a vicious, unending circle still
unfortunately resounds and describes what we see all too often two and half centuries
later. This is the second part of a trilogy in which the banished son Orestes returns to seek revenge for his
father’s brutal murder. What makes
that decision even more difficult is that his mother and her lover are his
intended targets as he comes home to atone their horrible act that climaxes the
first play of the trilogy.
Much of the play is the plotting of the new murders along with much mourning and seeking the gods' help and blessings.
This
scaled-back, rather bare-bones production highlights comparisons to our world by
setting the play in an urban, somewhat seedy lot with chain fence and large,
colorful graffiti on the walls of surrounding apartments. Modern music blasts from afar
throughout much of the play from unseen sources; the music adds appropriately to
the tension and the urgency without being over-bearing. The scenes and characters are told in
an action comic book manner. What
would normally be in larger productions live actors are sometimes just huge,
graffiti heads on the near-by walls with larger-than life voices coming from off
stage. Much of the wordy 'action’ takes
place in front of a shrine that modern audiences immediately recognize: fading flower and teddy-bears now placed
in the chain fence around a make-shift cross.
The
extremely slimmed-down, mostly young cast of four is uneven but overall gets
the job done. The truly
outstanding performance is by afro-haired Tasi Alabastro as Orestes. He embodies the energy, movements, and
voice of a comic book character, and yet he does so without losing a genuine sense
of realism and authentic anguish of the choices he faces. He is matched by a solid, though
sometimes too overdone performance of Helena Clarkson, who as part of the
2-person chorus takes on a street- dwelling, hobbling ‘earth mother' and who both
comforts and agitates-to-action Orestes.
The other chorus member, Andrew Chung, over-acts and over-shouts too
often his ‘gangsta’ persona; better direction could have corrected the flaws of
what is on the verge of being a really good interpretation. The real mismatch of the foursome is
Jessica Bettencourt as Electra.
As Orestes’s sister, she is either too meek and subdued or too
manic and wild to be truly believable.
All in
all, for a small community stage, this production is a worthy undertaking; and
the performance of Mr. Alabastro in particular is very satisfying.
Rating: 3 E’s
No comments:
Post a Comment