19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 7, 2017 14:45:50 GMT
 FIFTY WOMEN LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND TO BOARD A BOAT IN NORTH AFRICA AND FLEE ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN. They are escaping forced marriage in their homeland, hoping for protection and assistance, seeking asylum in Greece. Written 2,500 years ago, this is one of the world’s oldest plays. At its heart are fifty young women in full chorus arguing for their lives, speaking to us through the ages with startling resonance for our times. An extraordinary theatrical event, which opened in Edinburgh to great critical acclaim, this show will be reinterpreted for the unique Royal Exchange space. Part play, part ritual, part theatrical archaeology, it offers an electric connection to the deepest and most mysterious ideas of humanity - who are we, where do we belong and if all goes wrong – who will take us in? Directed by Ramin Grey Opens 10th March www.royalexchange.co.uk/whats-on-and-tickets/the-suppliant-women |
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898 posts
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Post by bordeaux on Mar 7, 2017 15:14:56 GMT
It got raves in Edinburgh; I'd love it to tour further.
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836 posts
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Post by duncan on Mar 7, 2017 22:17:03 GMT
Saw it last October -
A play thats 2000 years old and which has been essentially rewritten to be a fable of modern society with a lot of talk of refugees, asylum seekers and people who are treated differently as they look foreign.
Three professional actors and around 50 volunteers from the local community playing the chorus of suppliant women, whether you like it will probably depend on your feelings towards ancient texts that are staged to cast comment on today. In Edinburgh each show was also opened by local dignitary (MSPs and the like).
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180 posts
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Post by bee on Mar 8, 2017 6:59:38 GMT
Isn't this coming to the Young Vic in the Autumn?
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1,502 posts
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Post by foxa on Nov 18, 2017 22:08:45 GMT
I don't see a thread for this production now that it is at the Young Vic - but please move my posting if there is a better place for it.
Saw this tonight and it well deserves the 4 and 5 star reviews it has been receiving.
If you are interested in Greek Theatre then the choral work in this is not to be missed. It opens with a libation to Dionysus which someone outside the cast is selected to read/offer (tonight it was Christiane Amanpour, the international journalist for CNN.) Then an extraordinary group of about 25 women, (and two male actors and some additional figures) perform the piece with excellent diction and huge conviction. Bits are sung/chanted, there is a variety of interesting movements/formations, expressing the sorrow/anger/joy/fear/determination of the events that confront them. Its themes are relevant (refugees/asylum/rape/women's empowerment.) It is an hour and a half played straight through.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 22:37:06 GMT
I don't see a thread for this production now that it is at the Young Vic - but please move my posting if there is a better place for it. Saw this tonight and it well deserves the 4 and 5 star reviews it has been receiving. If you are interested in Greek Theatre then the choral work in this is not to be missed. It opens with a libation to Dionysus which someone outside the cast is selected to read/offer (tonight it was Christiane Amanpour, the international journalist for CNN.) Then an extraordinary group of about 25 women, (and two male actors and some additional figures) perform the piece with excellent diction and huge conviction. Bits are sung/chanted, there is a variety of interesting movements/formations, expressing the sorrow/anger/joy/fear/determination of the events that confront them. Its themes are relevant (refugees/asylum/rape/women's empowerment.) It is an hour and a half played straight through. I liked it Saw it weds Works very well The women are very impressive But I needed to urgently pass Urine for the last half an hour Which ruined it My own fault for misjudging fluid intake prior to the show |
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1,478 posts
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Post by Steve on Nov 18, 2017 23:08:14 GMT
Agree with Foxa. While it's classic Greek chorus, which conjures up the feeling of attending some kind of new wave hippie religious ceremony, might put off seekers of conventional entertainment or drama, this is just the most topical, moving, heartfelt, involving, mesmerisingly beautiful sounding, community-grounded, passionate, compassionate, feminist show! Fantastic! Some spoilers follow. . . If there's one thing we've learned from the news lately, it's the power of a polyphonic chorus, that echoes from voice to voice, and magnifies in it's thrust until it's message is utterly overwhelming. One accusatory voice Harvey Weinstein could have squashed, but two, three, four echoing voices, working in chorus and concert, not only overwhelmed him, but has changed the world for women (and other victims) overnight. It is this polyphonic superpower that the 27 young women of Southwark and Lambeth, reflecting the beautiful diversity of our capital city even as they form one perfect whole, wield, as part of the most sonorous, passionate and on-point Greek choruses I've ever seen. Alone, any one of these women would seem helplessly young and vulnerable, but together they are like a tidal wave of song and endless movement. Everything else about the show pales in comparison. The male performers, as soldiers, citizens, Egyptians, even Oscar Batterham's smooth effective besuited King, all vanish in significance compared to this magnificent unstoppable chorus. Even Aeschylus' brilliance succumbs to the combined force of this Chorus, as his story points, which cast them as "suppliant" and which present Omar Ibrahim's Danaos as a kind of guide and guru for the women, seem laughable in this current moment. Suppliant is the past, these women demand their due. This is the future. While I would happily praise every member of the chorus, I, perhaps fittingly, don't know their names. It's the combine that counts. As their figurehead, and chorus leader, Gemma May is flat out fantastic, commanding in verse, in movement, and in song. Yet even she alone, paled in her individual impact, compared to the force of the whole. Sometimes, a show meets a moment, even if it was created before that moment. Today's moment finds perfect expression in this show! This cast needs a longer run! 5 stars.  |
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1,217 posts
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Post by nash16 on Nov 19, 2017 2:01:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 2:06:15 GMT
I didn’t see him in The auditorium at the preview I attended |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 8:49:56 GMT
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1,217 posts
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Post by nash16 on Nov 19, 2017 20:30:35 GMT
It's like the Old Vic and Young Vic are having a Vic-off as to which theatre can respond the worst to harrasment allegations... |
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294 posts
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Post by dani on Nov 19, 2017 20:37:07 GMT
It's very oddly worded and evasive. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 20:47:34 GMT
The YV
Don’t strike me as the cleverest of theatres
Hardly eloquent
For all the good shows they put on
Which is the main focus
Nevertheless
They are quite cack handed in many other ways
Even amateur some might say
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2017 18:22:06 GMT
Ended up returning my ticket for this. As its sold out they cancelled it and gave me credit without waiting for resale.
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2,480 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 21, 2017 9:56:08 GMT
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1,478 posts
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Post by Steve on Nov 21, 2017 22:20:10 GMT
I feel for the Young Vic, caught between a rock and a hard place.
They protected their cast, and issued a statement that wouldn't risk a defamation lawsuit, as well as one that wouldn't prejudice any criminal case, if any.
Unlike the US, here the party printing the historic allegations has to prove they are true, rather than the party refuting them. And also, in this country, historic allegations may result in criminal prosecution.
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