Trapped in Mykonos - Review

Reviewed by Jasmine Crittenden
Independent theatre company, Gravas Productions, makes its debut with Trapped in Mykonos,a contemporary take on Euripides’ final work, Iphigenia in Aulis. Adhering to sizeable sections of the classical script, the Gravas team sets the action in a sexy bar/nightclub, and throws in a sprinkling of jokes referencing modern technology and cultural trends.

Written sometime between 408 and 406 BC, Iphigenia in Aulis hinges on a moral dilemma of epic proportions. The Greek fleet, moored at Aulis, Boeotia, and ready to sail to battle against the Trojans, is stopped in its tracks by a lack of wind. Calchas, the seer, informs the Greek leader, Agamemnon, that the goddess Artemis is controlling the weather because she is angry with him.Unless he agrees to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, Artemis will not relent. Agamemnon must lead his dearly loved eldest child to the altar, or risk the entire Greek army. As the drama unfolds, he faces the wrath of his wife, Clytemnestra; his brother, Menelaus; and Achilles, the legendary Greek hero.

Over the past two-and-a-half thousand years, Iphigenia in Aulis has experienced an assortment of adaptations and transformations, two of the most notable being French playwright Jean Racine’s 1674 dramatic verse version, Iphigenie, and Christoph Gluck’s 1774 opera, Iphigenie en Aulide.

Trapped in Mykonos attempts to carry Euripides’ tale into the twenty-first century. The ‘chorus’ (EllyHiraaniClapin and Sasha Hoffmann) are cocktail-sipping twenty-somethings dressed in fluoro pink singlets and denim short shorts who hang at the bar, flirting with the baseball-capped barman/ ‘messenger’ (Jeremy Burtenshaw). Achilles is dressed likeG.I. Joe and Agamemnon rides a mobility scooter.

Tom Bannerman’s set design is a vibrant, realistic depiction of a Mykonos bar, lined with bamboo and decorated with stencilled palm trees in bold colours. Contemporary pop and dance hits, programmed by sound designer Helen Grimley, punctuate the ancient verse.

However, while it’s certainly fun on the sensory level, this interpretation is lacking on the dramatic front. Much of the acting is stilted and unconvincing and some of the stage directions, while clear in intention, become laboured to the point of losing impact. For example, Agamemnon’s immobility is perhaps symbolic of his personal weaknesses, but the scooter’s insistent high-pitched noises and constant frenzied circling become grating after a while.

That said, one actor worth watching is Isaro Kayitesi, who plays Agamemnon’s beleaguered daughter. She tackles the role with conviction, successfully carrying the audience on Iphigenia’s journey from fragility and fear to courage and acceptance.

Trapped in Mykonos is playing at the Seymour Centre until 13 April.

Medea

Reviewed by Regina Su

Showing from October the 11^th until the 25^th of November at the Belvoir is a modern adaptation of the ancient Greek play by Euripides; Medea. With fantastic acting, this performance captivated audiences on a rollercoaster of tension, humour and family angst. The story of Medea sees her unstable marriage with husband Jason (of the story Jason and the Argonauts) and to spite him and watch him suffer, she resorts to killing his mistress and his children. This legend of a mother’s angst and her actions when she is at wit’s end are interestingly not the focus of this performance. Medea instead focuses on the children, before they are victims of the family politics and the playwright’s ability of capture the antics of little boys is possibly unrivalled. Their boisterous attitudes and childlike insight are not only a product of the skilful script, but also the extreme maturity of the actors. Absolute commendation to the actors. Blazey’s performance of Medea herself is superb, she commands the attention of the room in a matter of minutes, by stringing out the tension through well-placed silences and posture, it’s so very powerful. The lighting, use of darkness, glow in the dark stars and the set design were very well thought out and believable; these characters may have even been lifted straight out of our own lives. On a niggling reservation, I felt that I needed more of a back story, more of an understanding of why Medea resorted to such a ‘brain-snap’ to kill her children. Without prior knowledge of the Greek play I feel as though sympathy for Medea was difficult to generate as we didn’t comprehend why she hated her husband so much. That said however, they play was focused on the children and the children were convincing and their deaths very powerful.