theatre and context
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An essay on theatre and contextTRANSCRIPT
The Muses will cease from their songs of ages past from their paeans to our faithfulness.
Euripides’ Medea (420-421) You could stand in the Theatre of Dionysus on the southwest slop of the Acropolis in Athens and you could be forgiven for becoming overwhelmed with a numinous beauty. It is an historical site that has hosted countless recitations of fables that are concerned with gods and human frailty. The theatre of ancient Greece in performance was in effect the aggregate of the internal ponderings and contemplation of social mores by Athenians past. As Swift suggests in An Introduction to Greek Theatre (2013) “I think part of the reason that Greek theatre transcends cultural and temporal boundaries is because its themes are so universal – even though its set in a culture which is very different to our own – the basic themes still speak to us today because they’re universal. We still have difficulty with our relationships. We still have to make painful decisions in our own lives. We still have to grapple with the unfairness of the universe and the fact that people seem to suffer when they don’t really deserve to.” To me, however, it appears self evident that themes such as the purpose of existence and the examination of ethical frameworks are as relevant today as they were in the birthplace of Western civilization and I feel that is unfortunate that many of my students immediately shy away from engaging with the theatre of ancient Greece. One of the reasons being it is ancient. I too have often considered the denotation of ‘classic play’ as a suggestion of ancillary subject matter and decrepitude but when you unpack the historical, cultural and social context of Euripides Medea and Sophocles Antigone, you shall be immersing yourself into topics of prodigious gravitas such as gender stereotypes, ethics, infanticide and the rights of woman. As Warner suggests, “Medea is more relevant to us than the work of most contemporary playwrights.” (2001, para. 8) And Findlay commented that Antigone is, “like Heineken: it refreshes the parts other stories can't reach. It's part of our narrative DNA.” (Gardner, 2012, para. 4)
Both plays are anomalous in the depiction of complex non-‐archetypal women of Classical Greece as suggested by Barlow, “Women are expected to be domestic creatures, submissive, peaceful, and instruments rather than the initiators of action.” (1989, para. 2) Athenian women would not have been able to attend theatre as suggested by Taplin in BBC Learning zone Medea (2015) “personally I believe that it was an exclusively male audience.” because “woman were not citizens in the full sense of the word” and were in effect expected to remain within their domicile. “It is a general rule that it is proper for woman to obey the man.” (Katz, para. 1) Therefore women in ancient Greece had expectations from men to be submissive and the men would not have wanted women to be concerned with perplexing issues or contentious concepts. “The additional ignominy for them in all of this is that they are expected by men to like it and feel privileged in having a trouble-‐free life.” (Barlow, p159, para 4). This in itself presents a perplexing question as to why Sophocles and Euripides would develop principal female characters of such intensity and intrigue within a patriarchal society. I believe it is important to consider the significance of this duplicity especially if you intend to stage a modern interpretation of the aforementioned plays. One might ponder whether it was the intention of the playwrights to provoke the audience into deliberated discussion -‐ as was the norm of a society that was engaged with philosophical musings and developed the Socratic method of debate -‐ or was it a misogynistic gesture to validate the Athenian males opinions about the role of woman in classical Greek society. There is, however speculation that Euripides’ Madea was not well received at the festival of Dionysia because of the ‘extensive changes Euripides made to the conventions of Greek theatre in the play, by including an indecisive chorus, by implicitly criticizing Athenian society and by showing disrespect for the gods.’ (Mastin, para. 9) Both plays present female identity in a way that is still pertinent to the social mores of our contemporary society and I think it is of no circumstance that the recent reworking of both plays by the Royal National Theatre (Medea) and the Queens Theatre (Antigone) are the artistic interpretations of two young female directors -‐ Deborah Warner and Polly Findlay who offer fresh perspective and insight into both the malfeasance of Medea and the validation of Antigone.
Deborah Warner’s Medea Warner hinted at how tradition has constructed conventions on the way Medea should be played and the difficulties of reinterpreting the play for a modern female perspective. As Warner commented, “Previous performances make us have dangerous misconceptions about so many of these heroines. Think of when we did Hedda Gabler and how we discovered that the essence of Hedda was that she was a coward, a weak woman. We had to break through 100 years of performance history and the desire of so many actresses to play strong female roles. Here it is even harder. You have a 2,400-‐year-‐old stone to crack to get at the fossil within.” (Guardian News and Media Limited, para. 3) Warner wanted to readdress the standard notion of Medea “as a strong, willful, witchy woman who slaughters her children.” (Guardian News, 2001) And develop a narrative that explores the internal anguish of a mother who is contemplating the act of infanticide -‐ a dilemma of enormous weight. “In fact she spends the play struggling to find the strength to do the deed.” (Guardian News, 2001) I would purpose that the theatrical question tendered here trespasses upon the concerns of consequentialism and ‘that whether an act is morally right depends only on the consequences of that act or of something related to that act, such as the motive behind the act or a general rule requiring acts of the same kind.’ (Stanford, para. 1) Medea’s actions arrest our attention and traditionally “events which occur off-‐stage (such as the deaths of Glauce and Creon and Medea’s murder of her children) are described in elaborate speeches delivered by a messenger, rather than enacted before the audience.” (Mastin, para. 11) Although “the murder of the boys often takes place off stage, in Warner’s retelling, the youngest son manages briefly to get away before being chased down on stage – a brutal sight for any audience.” (Jackson, para. 3)
Fiona Shaw in Medea at Queen’s Theatre, London, in 2001. Photograph: Tristram Kenton retrieved on 20th of April from < http://national-‐theatre.tumblr.com/post/91249533126/have-‐we-‐met-‐before-‐medea-‐on-‐screen-‐and-‐stage> Surely such an intense moment would cause the audience some distress and it demonstrates at line 792-‐810 the effectiveness of engaging an audience with powerful emotions. ‘One of the ways in which the emotions are relevant to our search for knowledge is that they provide us with the energy to engage in intellectual activity.’ (Lagemat, 2005, p.150, para. 2) I believe it is an intellectual and theatrical concern to reexamine the events and reasons that lead Medea to her actions and to do so with an awareness of the social mores of the past and the present. I would wager that it was Warner’s intention to bring forth the nuance of how Media rationalized her choices and use provocative imagery so that we are enveloped by a narrative that places us -‐ as the passive observer -‐directly into the seat of Medea’s cognitive processes. ‘Most people have an automatic aversive emotional response to scenes of violence, often assessed by changes in heart rate and skin conductance. Such negative emotional responses help inhibit aggressive behavior and inspire helping behavior.’ (Nicholas, page 180, para. 1)
I think it was extremely effective for Warner to choose -‐ as a production decision -‐ the youngest child to be slain on stage. By presenting such antagonizing actions we -‐ the audience -‐ are invited to reflect on how we would personally respond. This provocative scene asks us to empathize with -‐ or at the very least -‐ understand Medea. Through this lens we are to see her actions as considered calculations that are justified and not the actions of momentary madness. I believe that this narrative illuminates the simpatico relationship of reason and emotion as suggested by Lagemaat, ‘Although we tend to think of reason and emotion as two different things, in practice they are closely related to one another and it is difficult to make clear distinction between them.’ (2005, page 156, para. 1) Polly Findlay’s Antigone. The rationalization of personal choices is also true of Antigone for as suggested by Neuburg, she “is not trying to secure emotional sympathy (she already believes that she has been abandoned by everyone), but to insist that her actions were right, and right from the standpoint of rational thought; " what can we expect from her other than a reasoned argument?” (1990, p. 58, para. 2) This sentiment is wonderfully illustrated in Findlays’ production when Antigone played by Jodie Whittaker responds to Creon played by Christopher Eccleston after he questions Antigone about her disobedience. “And yet you dared to disobey the law?” Antigone responds with “Yes I did! Because it’s your law not the law of god.” (‘Creon and Antigone’ 2013) Antigone brings ethical dilemmas into question. She is to consider her obligation to the state and the rule of law (Deontology), her own feelings and moral compass (Virtue Ethics) and the will of god (Divine Command Theory). In Findlays production Antigone berates Creon thus: “Natural justice? Which is at all times and places numinous not material. A quality of Zeus, not of kings! Recognize there’s no such law! You are merely a man!” (Antigone: Religion and Modern Context, 2013)
“Polly Findlay’s modern-‐dress production begins with a re-‐creation of that memorable scene when President Obama’s staff watched live computer coverage of the death of Osama bin Laden.” (Letts, para 4)
And this production choice immediately ‘updates the action at the royal palace of Thebes to a command and control centre of a European police state in the 1970s.’ (Spenser, para 2) This setting allows a modern audience to immediately relate to the mise en scene as it calls upon prior knowledge of current affairs. Findlay stated, “I feel it felt important to find a way of making the play accessible.”(‘Antigone’, 2013) By framing Antigone in a police state Findlay capitalizes on the Zeitgeist of our current political climate. We are now –thanks to global news coverage – acutely aware of a plethora of political and social ideologies that are engaged in conflict. From ISIS to Occupy Wall Street, from the rights of woman in Islamic countries and the current coverage of rapes in India, the social and political institutions around the world are being scrutinized and stress tested. As Findlay stated, “there are so many sophisticated political regimes’ around the world.” (Antigone: Religion and Modern Context, 2013)
[2]The Greek chorus inside the bunker watching as Polyneices launches a devastating attack on Thebes. Retrieved 21st of April from <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-‐reviews/9303336/Antigone-‐National-‐Theatre-‐review.html>
Antigone “is perhaps the greatest play ever written about the tension between the duties we owe the state and those we owe to our personal values. It would work just as powerfully were the cast dressed in togas and sandals, for Sophocles’s moral debate is timeless.’ (Spense, para. 6) And for Antigone to remain timeless it is pertinent to remember the context of a classic play being performed for today’s audience. Taplin states in BBC Learning zone Medea (2015), “I’m not quite sure what an authentic approach to producing Greek tragedy today really means. I mean after all your audience is never going to be authentic. Your audience is not an audience of 5th century Athenians it’s an audience of today. Therefore it seems to me however you do the play it’s got to be a way that is effective to today’s audience, that speaks to today’s audience.” Findlay reflected that, “we all know what it is like to feel sympathy for someone who is fighting against the system” and “It’s really exciting to be looking at a play were the protagonist is a young woman. It’s surprisingly unusual -‐ even now I think to find a piece of drama where the person who we are most instinctively rooting for is played by the young girl and that felt like a particularly – well it’s odd that it should feel like a refreshing thing to do – but it’s still -‐ at two and half thousand years old -‐ feels refreshing.” (‘Antigone’ 2013) I believe this sentiment speaks volumes about how women may feel that there is still more room for improvement in our post Suffragette society and how even after 2400 years ancient Greek theatre is speaking to the relentless struggle for women to be equal amongst men.
Bibliography: An Introduction to Greek Theatre 2013, Web Cast, National Theatre, London, directed by Chole White. BBC learning zone Medea – YouTube. 2015, viewed on 15th of April 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5-‐M6OBvAdE> Barlow, S 1989, Sterotype and Reversal in Euripidies’ ‘Medea’, Greece & Rome, vol 36, No.2, pp. 158-‐171. Creon and Antigone 2013, Web Cast, National Theatre, London. Director is not credited. Euripides, Medea, translated by Luschnig, C.A.E, viewed on the 7th of April 2015, <http://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/EuripidesMedeaLuschnig.pdf> Gardner, L 2012, Polly Findlay: Muscles, magic and suicide bombers, viewed on 15th of April 2015, <http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/may/30/polly-‐findlay-‐director> Guardian News and Media Limited 2015, Sympathy for the devil, viewed on 15th of April 2015, <http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/jan/30/artsfeatures2> Katz, M 1992, Ideology and “The Status of Women” in Ancient Greece, History and Theory, vol 1, No.4, Beiheft 31: History and Feminist Theory, pp. 70-‐97. Kellaway, K 2001, The mother of all Tragedies, viewed 17th of April 2015, <http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/jan/21/features.review7> Lagemaat, R, 2005, Theory of Knowledge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Letts, Q, 2012, Antigone, By Sophocles: Intense Ecclestone is the perfect fit, viewed on the 17th of April, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-‐2152510/Antigone-‐By-‐Sophocles-‐theatre-‐review-‐Intense-‐Christopher-‐Ecclestone-‐perfect-‐fit.html> Mastin, L 2009, Ancient Greece - -Euripides – Medea, viewed 18th of April 2015, <http://www.ancient-‐literature.com/greece_euripides_medea.html>
Nicholas L. Carnagey, Craig A. Anderson, and Bruce D. Bartholow, 2007, Media Violence and Social Neuroscience, vol 16, N0. 4, Current Directions in Psychological Science, pp. 178-‐181. Jackson L 2015, Have we met before? Madea on stage and screen, viewed on 19th of April 2015, <http://national-‐theatre.tumblr.com/post/91249533126/have-‐we-‐met-‐before-‐medea-‐on-‐screen-‐and-‐stage> Neuburg, M, 1990, How like a Woman: Antigone’s ‘Inconsistency’ Author (s), The Classical Quarterly, vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 54-‐76 Spenser, C, 2012, Antigone, National Theatre, review, viewed on the 19th of April 2015, < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-‐reviews/9303336/Antigone-‐National-‐Theatre-‐review.html> Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2011, Consequentialism, viewed on the 18th of April 2015, <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/> PHOTOGRAPHY [1] Fiona Shaw in Medea at Queen’s Theatre, London, in 2001. Photograph: Tristram Kenton retrieved on 20th of April from < http://national-‐theatre.tumblr.com/post/91249533126/have-‐we-‐met-‐before-‐medea-‐on-‐screen-‐and-‐stage> [2] The Greek chorus inside the bunker watching as Polyneices launches a devastating attack on Thebes. Retrieved 21st of April from <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-‐reviews/9303336/Antigone-‐National-‐Theatre-‐review.html>