Robert Icke’s adaptation of classical plays re-open or continue the debate about how we relate to the famous playwrights’ text. The British writer and director brought to stage ‘1984’ (which was also staged at HaBima in Israel), ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Hamlet’, ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘The Alchemist’, ‘Mary Stuart’ and other, most of the them at the Almeida Theatre in London where he holds the position of Associate Director.
Aeschylus’ trilogy ‘Oresteia’ is one of those productions, now brought to stage at the Gesher Theater in Jaffa, directed by Evgeny Arieh. Icke re-writes the story of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Orestes, Ifigenia and Electra keeping the principal lines of the story and characters, but transports the story into contemporaneity and translates the text into modern language. His plan and intention is to arise the interest of the modern and especially of the young audiences. The text is re-written, the ideas behind the text are preserved and emphasized actually by the re-writing.
Of course, this approach is open for discussion.
I liked the performance at the Gesher Theater. The performance had pace and fluency, and kept the audience interested by drawing sharply the drama and its characters while asking moral and political questions that are relevant today as they were 2500 years ago. The set was smartly designed, with spaces divided by curtains that turn into mirrors that extend them and offer different angles to viewers. The use of video techniques was intelligent and well integrated into the stage concept. The whole team of actors did a fine job, with special kudos to Doron Tavori and Efrat Ben-Zur.
A good evening of modern theater. Recommended.
