EIF 2023 Phaedra / Minotaur Lyceum Theatre 20th August Review
Photo Credit Tristram-Kenton
Phaedra/Minotaur at the Lyceum Theatre (18-20 Aug) is a double bill at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival which paired Benjamin Britten’s final vocal work, the cantata “Phaedra”, with a new dance piece “Minotaur”.
There is something ancient within us that does not let us walk away from these stories of Greek mythology and here Britten gives us a very emotional view of the often much maligned Phaedra trying to somehow atone for her actions by taking her own life by poison.
This cantata, which was originally written specifically for the mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, is remarkable when we consider Britten’s fragile health at the time of writing it. Here today Christine Rice gave us a very emotional Phaedra, and Richard Hetherington, musical director and piano, brought out the many subtle yet powerful moments in Britten’s musical score
Sadly, however, the minimalist monochrome set did nothing for me and at times with white sheets (some over bodies) lying around it often looked like the house-painters were about to come in and start their work. There was some projection onto a white screen at the rear of the set but from where I was sitting in the circle, it was indistinct and difficult to see. Somehow the minimalism of this set drained for me some of the emotion that this work should have had.
By contrast, “Minotaur”, with choreography by Kim Brandstrup, had an equally minimalist set design but somehow this worked well with the often athletic but also when required very tender and emotional performances by dancers Tommy Franzen, Jonathan Goddard and Isabel Lubach.
With a red trail of blood set against a black background (the painters really had been in during the interval), five movements, Combat, Seduction, Departure, Lament and deus ex machina told this story wordlessly with dance and body language so often saying more than words ever could have.
Adding much to the design for this production was the back wall of the set which was also a climbing wall and it was used here to effect with some innovative and high risk choreography that required so much physical power of the dancer.
Two very different approaches to the re-telling of an ancient story proving that there are still so many variants of something old to be reinterpreted as something new.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
There is something ancient within us that does not let us walk away from these stories of Greek mythology and here Britten gives us a very emotional view of the often much maligned Phaedra trying to somehow atone for her actions by taking her own life by poison.
This cantata, which was originally written specifically for the mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, is remarkable when we consider Britten’s fragile health at the time of writing it. Here today Christine Rice gave us a very emotional Phaedra, and Richard Hetherington, musical director and piano, brought out the many subtle yet powerful moments in Britten’s musical score
Sadly, however, the minimalist monochrome set did nothing for me and at times with white sheets (some over bodies) lying around it often looked like the house-painters were about to come in and start their work. There was some projection onto a white screen at the rear of the set but from where I was sitting in the circle, it was indistinct and difficult to see. Somehow the minimalism of this set drained for me some of the emotion that this work should have had.
By contrast, “Minotaur”, with choreography by Kim Brandstrup, had an equally minimalist set design but somehow this worked well with the often athletic but also when required very tender and emotional performances by dancers Tommy Franzen, Jonathan Goddard and Isabel Lubach.
With a red trail of blood set against a black background (the painters really had been in during the interval), five movements, Combat, Seduction, Departure, Lament and deus ex machina told this story wordlessly with dance and body language so often saying more than words ever could have.
Adding much to the design for this production was the back wall of the set which was also a climbing wall and it was used here to effect with some innovative and high risk choreography that required so much physical power of the dancer.
Two very different approaches to the re-telling of an ancient story proving that there are still so many variants of something old to be reinterpreted as something new.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com