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Category Archives: Classical Greek Drama

THEATRE: Sophocles’ PHILOCTETES (409 BCE)

20 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ACTING, ACTORS, Classical Greek Drama, Classical Theatre, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, Euripides, Helen of Troy, HISTORY, LITERATURE, PEOPLE, PLAYS, Sophocles, The Trojan War, THEATRE, Uncategorized, USA

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ACTORS, Classical Greek Drama, DRAMA, PHILOCTETES, Sophocles, THEATRE

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This article is a continuation of the series devoted to ‘neglected plays.

PHILOCTETES (409 BCE) by Sophocles

Sophocles’ Philoctetes was first performed at the City Dionysia festival in ancient Athen in 409 BCE, winning first prize in the annual competition devoted to drama. It has subsequently had a rather chequered existence, nonetheless, is still regularly performed in Europe and the USA – but not in Australia.

download-1It is a ‘war play’ dealing with the character of Philoctetes and the ownership of a master weapon – Heracles’ Bow and Arrows – that is needed to end the Trojan War. At the time when Sophocles wrote Philoctetes and it was first performed Athens was entering the final years of the decades long and exhausting Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE). Whilst achieving a number of military successes and the suppression of a couple of rebellions, nonetheless, Athens and the so-called Athenian League were also facing considerable international problems and defeats, particularly by the Persians as well as the ever increasing power of Carthage and the Carthaginians. Philoctetes may be considered a ‘war play’ but it is also a moral and ethical drama involving ‘keeping the peace’. Furthermore, it shows how in times of war a problematic person of value may be discarded and abandoned for the sake of personal ambition in the guise of action for the ‘greater good’. This hypocritical lie and deceit is exposed and denounced – but only after a long period of time, which is a lesson in itself – and only by someone who has the ethical and moral courage to stand up to the force of the majority.

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Whilst the classical Greek mythic characters may occasionally reappear from time to time, sometimes in a Disney film, or referenced in a Marvel Comic blockbuster, or in a modern adaptation with a ‘modern’ twist, very rarely do we see in Australia see a fully mounted professional production of a classical Greek play. Recently, I raised this issue and was met with various responses ranging from complete ignorance to these vitally important plays being now considered ‘irrelevant’.

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Putting aside their importance to contemporary Freudian analysis, there download-3are a couple of these plays that hold a significant place in Australian theatre history. download-2This includes Euripides’ Medea (431 BCE) and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (429 BCE). Medea was a big international success for Australian actors Dame Judith Anderson and Zoe Caldwell; Oedipus Rex was directed by Tyrone Guthrie for Sydney’s Old Tote Theatre Company in the 1960s and was a landmark production not only for Guthrie, but also for the fledgling Old Tote Theatre Company.

There have been subsequent re-workings and adaptations of these plays, and others, but nothing like these productions of the original works. Why? Who knows – irrelevance is too stupid to contemplate. It may be that, like others in this series of ‘neglected plays’, it is combination of factors, including not having the actors and directors who have the talent, skill, nor interest in scaling these challenging heights of great theatre. Also, it may be that Philoctetes does not conform with contemporary perception (mis-perceptions) of classical Greek drama, in that it is neither a classical tragedy nor a comedy. Like Euripides’ Alcestis (438 BCE) due to this perceived non-conformity to so-called classical rules, it has been labelled a ‘problem play’. However, it isn’t really a ‘problem’; it is what it is, and like Alcestis has a relatively happy ending. It is only a ‘problem’ if one refuses to accept the relative optimism of the ending. If labels are needed then Philoctetes, as well as Alcestis, could be regarded as prefiguring a future form of drama, particularly in 17th Century Jacobean London, that will be identified as ‘tragi-comedy’ – a dramatic narrative that has all the hallmarks and characteristics of classical tragedy, yet has a fortuitous classical comedy ending.

The classical Greek plays that are possibly known would probably include Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Electra and Antigone, and Euripides’ Medea, The Trojan Women, and The Bacchae, and maybe Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. I think it highly unlikely that Sophocles’ extraordinary Philoctetes is known at all. Nonetheless, Philoctetes is still performed in Europe and the USA, including productions by the U.K.’s Cheek by Jowl theatre companies, and performed readings such as the annual Theatre of War series to military and civilian communities in the US and Europe.

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Rather than being regarded as irrelevant and old-fashioned Philoctetes is seen by some, including me, as highly pertinent and apt for the modern world. Why?

Because Philoctetes is about the possession of the weapon – the master weapon to end all wars; or in this case the end of the Trojan War.

Philoctetes was a Greek warrior who held a special place amongst the Greeks as a great archer. He was one of the original suitors for the hand of Helen, but more importantly, due to assisting Heracles he was given Heracles powerful Bow and Arrows. Philoctetes was amongst the original members of the Greek army that went to Troy. However, on the journey to Troy Philoctetes was bitten by a snake, which gave him great pain as well as causing a hideous stench. So bad was the smell that it resulted in Odysseus, Agamemnon, Menelaus, and the rest of the Greek army abandoning Philoctetes on the lonely and deserted island of Lemnos. Now, ten years later, due to a prophesy by Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy that stated the Greeks needed Philoctetes and Heracles’ Bow and Arrows to win the Trojan War, Odysseus and Neoptolemus, son of the late Achilles, have come to Lemnos. Odysseus, knowing how much Philoctetes hates him and the Greeks, persuades the young and honorable Neoptolemus to trick Philoctetes and gain his trust by claiming that, like Philoctetes, Neoptolemus also hates Odysseus. Whilst initially very reluctant Neoptolemus agrees, gains Philoctetes trust and subsequently is given Heracles’ powerful weapon. Whilst Philoctetes goes through a bout of extreme pain, Neoptolemus suffers from guilt and decides to return the weapon to Philoctetes. Odysseus reappears and tries to prevent this. However, Neoptolemus refuses and after numerous threats Odysseus leaves. Neoptolemus tries to persuade Philoctetes to return with him to Troy with the weapon under his own free will. Philoctetes refuses, but suddenly Heracles appears from the heavens and tells Philoctetes to go with Neoptolemus to Troy, with the Bow and Arrows, where he will be cured and help win the war for the Greeks. Philoctetes agrees and he and Neoptolemus leave, bound for Troy.

That, in a nutshell, is the basic story of Sophocles’ play; there are other versions of the Philoctetes story, including plays by Aeschylus and Euripides that are now lost. Furthermore, Sophocles’ play has attracted a number of modern poets – my favourite being by the Irish poet and Nobel Prize winner, Seamus Heaney’s The Cure At Troy: A version of Sophocle’s Philoctetes (1990).  

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Why did the Philoctetes story hold such an important place in ancient Greece, and why does it still hold, in certain quarters, such strong appeal? Whilst there may be some differences in the various versions, nonetheless, it is the importance and the possession of the weapon, Heracles’ Bow and Arrows, which remains the primary symbolic feature of all the versions. The actual weapon, it’s power etc, is not discussed – just desired. It is the moral and ethical debates debate about ownership and possession of this weapon, gained by either deceit and subterfuge or honourable means that is actually the main drama in Sophocles’ play. Sophocles places great emphasis on the ethical and moral dilemma facing Neoptolemus. He is driven to deceit for ‘god and country’ matters by Odysseus, for the sake of the Greek army etc, but he knows that this is wrong, hence his change of heart. He offers kindness, respect and honour to the old man, Philoctetes, and is justly rewarded. It is clear that Sophocles social and political message is on the side of honour, as exemplified by Neoptolemus. Sadly, this type of hero is not generally found in modern drama, except in the Marvel Comic films. Contemporary tastes tend to favour the anti-heroes, such as the WOLF OF WALL STREET, or other such dubious characters, more in the mould of Odysseus. Maybe I’m wrong, but as George Miller noted in his review of 100 years of Australian cinema, the modern ‘dreaming’ has become more ‘toxic’. It is notable that in Australian drama we do tend to have more of villains than heroes – poor box office? Perhaps – but as the popularity of the Marvel Comic film heroes suggest we still need our heroes.

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TONY KNIGHT

 

FILM REVIEW: War for the the Planet of the Apes

25 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ACTING, ACTORS, Classical Greek Drama, DRAMA, FILM, MOVIES, PLAYS, SHAKESPEARE, Uncategorized

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ACTING, CINEMA, FILM, MOVIES, PLANET OF THE APES, SCEINCE-FICTION

 

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War for the Planet of the Apes is the third and probably final film in the recent re-imagining of this science-fiction apocalypse fantasy that commenced with publication of Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel La Planete des Singes (Planet of the Apes). LaPlanèteDesSinges

The first film series started with Planet of the Apes (1968), directed by Franklin J. Schaffner with a screenplay by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson, and was a relatively loose adaptation of Boulle’s novel. It was a popular and critical success, seizing the imagination of a world-wide audience and subsequently spawning four other films between 1970 and 1973.

220px-PlanetoftheapesPosterOne reason for the success of this film series was the strong support and commitment given by the respective actors involved, including Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, and in particular Roddy McDowell. Frankly, except for the first and third film, Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) the rest are rather forgettable and not at the same standard as those just cited, which have a psychological complexity and depth beyond the normal science fiction film.

Nearly thirty years later after the final film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) came Planet-of-the-Apes-2001Tim Burton’s dark and thrilling Planet of the Apes (2001), which was essentially a re-imagining of the original 1968 film. Burton’s film was a popular and critical success, however, it was not until 2011 that the first film in this current series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt with a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, was released. The success of this film led to the second film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and finally War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), both directed by Matt Reeves with screenplays by Jaffa, Silver, and Mark Bomback, and Reeves and Bomback, respectively. This new trilogy of films was inspired by Pierre Boulle’s novel, as well as the previous six films (and the 1974 television series), but is completely new take on the original concept of a planet in which apes speak and are roughly equivalent, and subsequently a challenge, to mankind.

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What also makes this latest trilogy of films different from previous works is not just the new storyline and given circumstances of the plot, but the art of movie-making in the 21st Century, and in particular ‘performance capture’ and the work of the actors involved who play the apes in the respective films. ‘Performance capture’ is a relatively new form in the art of acting, highly technical, extremely physically, and demanding considerable trust by the actor and director in the collaborative process. The acknowledged ‘master’ in this new form of acting is the English actor, Andy Serkis, whose roles include Gollum in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy Lord of the Rings (2001-03) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012),  Kong in Jackson’s King Kong (2005), Captain Haddock in Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Supreme Leader Snoke in J. J. Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Caesar, the revolutionary ape leader in this new Planet of the Apes series. Serkis’ extraordinary performance, along with the other actors involved, plus the stunning art direction and visual effects by Weta Digital, makes War for the Planet of the Apes an extremely pleasurable and rewarding experience – on the big screen; a significant reductive experience if watched on a small screen (although, sadly, many will watch this film on such – it is not the same experience, nor the intention of the film-makers).

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In conversations I had subsequent to watching the South Australian premiere of the film last night it became immediately apparent that many of the influences, openly acknowledged by the respective film makers, were completely missed. In creating the film Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback watched and were inspired by numerous films, including Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959), John Sturges’ The Great Escape (1963), Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979). All these influences (and more) are discernable to the judicious and informed movie-goer eye. Such film cross-referencing is not uncommon in the history of film,  adding to the enjoyment as well as depth of films such as War for the Planet of the Apes. One example is Woody Harrelson’s wonderful performance of Caesar’s nemesis The Colonel, inspired by Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz in Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. This is no mere imitation but a respectful homage and inspirational decision. How many actually pick up on this, however, is questionable – at least in my immediate circumstances. I can only encourage you to watch these film masterpieces in order to enhance the pleasure of watching War for the Planet of the Apes; they also happen to be extraordinary films in their own right.

An even larger question is why we are fascinated, to the point of obsession, with imaginings of our own demise. This is evident as far back as The Bible with Noah and the Ark, as well as numerous classical Greek and Roman myths and dramas, exemplified by Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (c. 429 BCE). As with Oedipus Rex there is fear of contamination and plague in War for the Planet of the Apes, which complements a similar concern in the previous two films. This fear is characteristic of numerous films, particularly those from the USA, in the 21st Century, post ‘9/11’, exemplified by the multiple zombie films and television series, such as The Walking Dead. It is as if the respective film makers, consciously or not, have tapped into a world-wide fear, and subsequently allowing for a kind of contemporary cathartic release in experiencing such dramas, guaranteeing popular and critical success and appeal at this time in the history of mankind. Why apes in this particular case is curious. However, considering our fascination and concern with our closest animal relatives, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees, this only adds to the complexity, depth and credibility of the entire Planet of the Apes series. We would like to communicate with them, recognising their all-too human traits – but what if they really do start behaving like human beings? It would be, at least according to these films as well Boulle’s original novel, regarded as a threat. Furthermore, War for the Planet of the Apes taps into issues of destructive and obsessive anger, and the desire for revenge; a consistent theme in world-wide human dramatic literature, exemplified by Shakespeare’s Hamlet (c.1601) and Othello (c.1603), as well as the more recent television miniseries The Night Manager (2016).

Despite the fun in recognising these influences and world-wide-web connection with other dramatic works, nonetheless, my only criticism of War for the Planet of the Apes is its length. Running at 140 minutes the film drags itself out towards the end with multiple potential endings. Subsequently, with the final film reference to de Mille’s The Ten Commandments, Caesar being like the Biblical character of Moses, denied entrance to the ‘Promised Land’, seemed a bit laboured and sentimental. This is, however, a minor point in what is overall a highly enjoyable film; although I would suggest a visit to the toilet prior to watching this film.

TONY KNIGHT

 

 

Michael Billington’s THE 101 GREATEST PLAYS: #2 – Sophocles’ OEDIPUS REX

03 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ACTING, ACTORS, Classical Greek Drama, Classical Theatre, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, HISTORY, LITERATURE, oedipus rex, PLAYS, THEATRE, TRAVELING IN INDIA, Uncategorized

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DRAMA, GREEK CLASSICAL DRAMA, oedipus rex, PLAYS, THEATRE

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3rd November 1945: Laurence Olivier as Oedipus denounces the blind seer Tiresius, played by Ralph Richardson (1902 - 1983), in a dramatic scene from Sophocles' tragedy. Original Publication: Picture Post - 3030 - Oedipus Rex A Great Greek Tragedy - pub. 1945 (Photo by Merlyn Severn/Picture Post/Getty Images)
3rd November 1945: Laurence Olivier as Oedipus denounces the blind seer Tiresius, played by Ralph Richardson (1902 – 1983), in a dramatic scene from Sophocles’ tragedy. Original Publication: Picture Post – 3030 – Oedipus Rex A Great Greek Tragedy – pub. 1945 (Photo by Merlyn Severn/Picture Post/Getty Images)

INTRODUCTION

The once lived a man named Oedipus Rex

You may have heard about his odd complex

His name appears in Freud’s Index ‘cause

He loved his Mother!

Tom Lehrer – Oedipus Rex

So runs one of the verses of Tom Lehrer’s hilarious take on Oedipus Rex. Lehrer was writing his song in the light of The Kinsey Report, the first serious examination and analysis of the sexual behaviour of the American male and female, which was published in the early 1950s. Freudian analysis, or psycho-analysis, was becoming increasingly popular in explaining certain human relationships. Freud used a number of classical Greek characters, such as Oedipus, to identify certain behavioural patterns, in this case between mother and son; another was the character of Electra in regard to hostile mother-daughter relationships. Whilst Oedipus and Electra are two very well-known yet very different characters from the classical Greek myths, nonetheless, they are today known (if they are known) through the plays written about them by Sophocles (c. 496-o6 BCE), after Aeschylus the second major classical Greek playwright.

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Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is the second play UK theatre critic Michael Billington lists in his 101 GREATEST PLAYS (2015). First performed in Athens around 429 BCE, as part of the annual festival and rituals honouring the demi-god of the theatre, Dionysus, it is the first in a trilogy of plays by Sophocles that is collectively known as The Theban Cycle and/or The Theban Plays. The others are Oedipus at Colonus (c. 406 BCE), and Antigone (c. 441 BCE). Whilst certainly constituting a ‘trilogy’ of plays favoured by the classical Greek theatre, nonetheless, as can be discerned by the attached dates the three plays were written and initially performed at vastly different times, and in a different order from how they are now subsequently regarded as a ‘trilogy’ of plays about the fall of the ancient Theban House of Laius.

Sophocles was not the only classical Greek playwright attracted to the stories associated with the House of Laius. Aeschylus had also written a trilogy of ‘Theban’ plays, of which sadly only his Seven Against Thebes (467 BCE)  remains. Arguably Seven Against Thebes has had an even greater influence on world drama and cinema than Oedipus Rex, being the source of inspiration for Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954), and subsequently John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven (1960); indeed it is genesis for any dramatic narrative that involves a group of people battling against a formidable enemy, such as Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna (c. 1612),  J. Lee Thompson’s The Guns of Navarone (1961), George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977), and Pixar’s A Bug’s Life (1998).

Michael Billington’s short essay on Oedipus Rex is terrific – honest, balanced, informative and enlightening. He begins with tackling the influence of Freud, placing it within an historical context. Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, in which appears for the first time the so-called ‘Oedipus Complex’, was published in 1901. This is well before the first English production of the play. I didn’t know that the play was not actually performed in the UK until 1912!!!? This was due to censorship and the Lord Chamberlain’s office; something that Shakespeare had to contend with.Billington correctly questions the extent of our actual depth and knowledge of the play considering the ‘modern’ performance history in English is relatively new (only 116 years). He draws attention to version by John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee in 1678 in which displays certain ‘reservations’ by Dryden and Lee in regard to the mother-son sexual relationship, quoting the character of Oedipus, ‘An unknown hand…still checked my forward joy’. (HoHo!).

I was particularly taken with his addressing the ‘Freud’ issue, emphasizing that it is just one aspect of this truly fascinating play. He quotes Freud – ‘It is the fate of all of us perhaps…to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father. Our dreams convince us that  this is so’. ‘Perhaps’ is a big perhaps, and ‘our dreams’ far from ‘convincing’. Billington brilliantly states that ‘danger in seeing the play as a Freudian textbook is two-fold. It underestimates the sublime intricacy of Sophocles plot, to which Aristotle paid due tribute. It also undermines the unresolved tensions, within in the play, between the power of fate and free will’; and ‘the brilliance of Sophocles’ play lies precisely in the extent to which it shows the hero exercising choices dependent on character. That is the source of its modernity rather the the embodiment of primal sexual urges’; and that the ‘key point of the play is ‘the tension between the pre-ordained and personal impulse is never ending’. I couldn’t agree more!

Billington openly admits that he was not completely won over by the play until he saw a performance by Ralph Fiennes in a 2008 production directed by Jonathan Kent ‘that finally unlocked the play’s complexity’. Billington concludes that based on this performance he ‘finally got to the heart of Sophocles’ play: one that shows, within an immaculate structure, that flawed characters are capable of huge suffering and that the belief in the workings of destiny does not exclude human responsibility’. Brilliant!

In the essay Billington references a number of productions, particularly Max Reinhardt’s ‘ground-breaking 1912 production’, and Laurence Olivier’s performance in 1945.

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Lawrence Olivier as Oedipus in the 1946 Old Vic production of Sophocles' 'Oedipus'. LO British actor 22 May 1907 - 11 July 1989; Sophocles Greek tragedian 496 BCE - 406 BCE.
Lawrence Olivier as Oedipus in the 1946 Old Vic production of Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’. LO British actor 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989; Sophocles Greek tragedian 496 BCE – 406 BCE.
3rd November 1945: Laurence Olivier as Oedipus denounces the blind seer Tiresius, played by Ralph Richardson (1902 - 1983), in a dramatic scene from Sophocles' tragedy. Original Publication: Picture Post - 3030 - Oedipus Rex A Great Greek Tragedy - pub. 1945 (Photo by Merlyn Severn/Picture Post/Getty Images)
3rd November 1945: Laurence Olivier as Oedipus denounces the blind seer Tiresius, played by Ralph Richardson (1902 – 1983), in a dramatic scene from Sophocles’ tragedy. Original Publication: Picture Post – 3030 – Oedipus Rex A Great Greek Tragedy – pub. 1945 (Photo by Merlyn Severn/Picture Post/Getty Images)

I was a bit surprised, however, that he made only a relatively fleeting reference to Tyrone Guthrie’s production at Stratford Ontario, Canada, and Minneapolis in the USA. Billington is a bit of an expert and admirer of Guthrie, as evident in his ‘A-Z of Modern Drama: G is for Tyrone Guthrie‘ for The Guardian. Whilst not negating Billington’s excellent short essay on Oedipus Rex, I wish to add my own experience of Oedipus Rex, which involves two great 20th Century theatre artists – Tyrone Guthrie and Christopher Fettes.

TYRONE GUTHRIE: Oedipus Rex – The Old Tote Theatre, Sydney 1970

I was first introduced to Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex when still a schoolboy. The eminent UK theatre director, Sir TYRONE GUTHRIE, came to Australia in 1970 to direct a production of Oedipus Rex with Sydney’s Old Tote Theatre Company.

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Guthrie had directed a land-mark and ground-breaking Oedipus at Stratford, Ontario, Canada, in 1957, and the Sydney version was essentially a re-working of this production, but with Australian actors, designer, and technical crew. Ron Haddrick played Oedipus and Ruth Cracknell played Jocasta. itsruth3__jpg_320x240_crop_q85This was one of my very first experiences of professional theatre and I can still vividly recall it – or parts of it. Staged in the images-3Sir John Clancy auditorium in the middle of the University of NSW campus, it was massive, with all the characteristics of Guthrie’s particular ‘epic’ style. Everything was big – the masks, the costumes, the theatre space – everything. It was not, however, well received; one critic wondering why this play was even being done in the first place. Be that as it may, nonetheless, I do vividly remember the way Ruth Cracknell as Jocasta left the stage after realizing that Oedipus was her son; I also remember Ron Falk as the sharmantic soothsayer, Tiresias, who was dressed like a huge bird (a seagull?) and behaved accordingly, complementing the knowledge that Tiresias lived with birds. Sadly, Cracknell and Falk (as well as others) are no longer with us; Ron Haddrick, however, is still alive and I hope his memories of performing Oedipus in this production have been recorded for the National Archives.

It is a great shame that most young Australian actors, directors, and theatre professionals are unaware of Tyrone Guthrie’s considerable importance and influence in regard to contemporary Australian theatre. Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s he was on a government sponsored panel that concentrated on the future of Australian theatre. This is too much a subject to deal with here, nonetheless – despite concerns for how we collectively spoke at the time (Aussie ‘strine?), and an insistence that Australian actors receive a training in ‘classical’ theatre in the UK, it was Guthrie who called for a National Australian Theatre to be established. This didn’t happen. It was, however, partly due to Guthrie that the respective State theatre companies were established, as well as the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Furthermore, Guthrie had a major influence on one of the most important contemporary Australian actor-director’s – JOHN BELL. in the early 1960s John Bell and Anna Volska worked with Guthrie in the UK. Returning to Australia they worked as professional actors with the Old Tote Theatre Company and others as well as establishing the Nimrod Theatre (later Belvoir Street Theatre). Again – as a young schoolboy and theatre addict I was witness to all of this (thank you Mum and Dad). Looking back I can see how much Guthrie influenced what Nimrod and Belvoir Street did in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in regard to ‘classical’ drama. I don’t necessarily mean in regard to interpretation and style but in regard to the use and design of the actual space – open and multi-purpose (like Shakespeare-Burbage’s Globe Theatre, and the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, USA. Guthrie’s influence is perhaps most discernible when the Bell’s (Anna being John’s wife) established THE BELL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY. The first season included Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice – and was staged in a tent. Again – it is the use of theatrical space, including the actor-audience relationship, that shows Guthrie’s influence. The company subsequently went from strength to strength, mainly due to the artistic leadership of John Bell. Furthermore, The Bell Shakespeare Company is Australia’s only national touring theatre company, so in a way the Bell’s have established what Tyrone Guthrie envisonaged – a National Australian Theatre Company (sort of).

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Needless to add as must be relatively obvious that I am a great fan of the Bell’s,and extremely influenced by their acting and artistic vision, leadership and production. Thank you.

‘SCAPEGOAT’ RITUAL: Oedipus Rex 

Whilst a student at the Drama Centre, London, in the late-1970s I again locked horns with Oedipus Rex. Indeed, it was the play I had chosen as part of my audition/interview for the Director’s course, and I remember getting grilled by Christopher Fettes. I must have done OK, however, as I was accepted. During the 1st Year of Drama Centre, Oedipus Rex was one of the set classical plays chosen by Christopher for his ‘Analysis’ classes with the 1st Year actors and directors. I don’t recall very much about any actual presentation, but I do remember being inspired and enlightened, as well as amazed, at Christopher’s techniques of analysis, things that I continue to practice to this day.

Christopher focused us on the ritualistic function and importance of the play within the fertility festival devoted to Dionysus. This was an approach and interpretation very influenced by Francis Ferguson’s The Idea of the Theatre, as well as Peter Brook’s The Empty Space, particularly Brook’s chapter on ‘Holy Theatre’. It  also concentrated on Aristotle’s Poetics, especially so as Aristotle makes frequent reference to Oedipus Rex in his identification of the form, structure and purpose of classical tragedy. Aristotle established that the cathartic release of ‘pity and terror’ was the essential function and purpose of tragedy. Christopher Fettes, however, demanded that we go further than acknowledging this and that the play was a part of a fertility ritual. What exactly was this fertility ritual? Solving this led to the discovering of what the play was about, and the precise cathartic release of a specific emotional and psychological human condition and need, which would not only explain the continued popularity of the play but also open up its inter-connection to the universal web of other dramatic works, stories and myths. In the case of Oedipus Rex it was a SCAPEGOAT RITUAL.

The need to scapegoat others, for either an individual or a group to be blamed and take on the sins and guilt of a community is part of the human condition. It is not a particularly attractive part, nonetheless, we all do it, have done, and will continue to do it. Oedipus, as King of Thebes, takes on the responsibility to find out the murderer of the previous king, King Laius, and thus rid Thebes of the pollutant that has brought plague to the city.  What he does not know, but will be reveal at a tragic cost, is that he is the actual pollutant – he is the killer. At the end of the play, Oedipus accepts his fate and is subsequently ostracized by the community.

This is just one aspect of Oedipus Rex. It is, however, a crucial element – the taking on the sins of a community, being the scapegoat. It links to other narratives and characters, as well as persons and groups; such as Jesus Christ as well as John Proctor in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (1953). It focuses this particularly part of the Dionysus fertility festival involving drama and an audience; it is hoped that the community who experiences this play is subsequently purged of the need and desire to scapegoat for the benefit of the community.

As Christopher Fettes emphasized what is happening to Thebes that warrants this task and need to find a scapegoat is the plague; in this case – ‘The Red Death’. Christopher took us through various acting and directing exercises associated with the dramatic action of the opening of the play, the actual entry of the Chorus, before anyone has actually spoken. Luckily for me, I was aware through studying Ancient History at Sydney Grammar School that the issue of plague dominated Athens around the time Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex. There is an actual and quite graphic account of Athens in the grip of this devastating plague in Thucydides The Peloponnesian War, the main historical source and record of the epic war between Athens (and her allies) and Sparta 431-404 BCE. This was very much Sophocles throwing a ‘mirror up to nature’.

There are many other elements to Oedipus Rex; e.g. the ‘tragic flaw’, the issue of ‘fate’, and the symbolism of sight and blindness. It is remarkable and fascinating that this particular play from the classical Greek canon has attracted so much commentary throughout the ages, from Aristotle to Coleridge, Billington and beyond. Coleridge regarded as amongst the three most perfectly plotted narratives in literature; the others being Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones (1749) and Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist (1610). It can also be seen as the first ‘Detective Story’, with Oedipus being both detective and criminal. Furthermore, its world-wide performance history is extraordinary as it is massive, with many great actors and directors, as well as designers attracted to the imaginative power and depth of this tragedy; this includes Max Reinhardt, Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

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Lawrence Olivier as Oedipus in the 1946 Old Vic production of Sophocles' 'Oedipus'. LO British actor 22 May 1907 - 11 July 1989; Sophocles Greek tragedian 496 BCE - 406 BCE.
Lawrence Olivier as Oedipus in the 1946 Old Vic production of Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’. LO British actor 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989; Sophocles Greek tragedian 496 BCE – 406 BCE.
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 Read it – or even better see it – if you can; it is relatively clear to me that Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is like how Harold Bloom describes Shakespeare’s Hamlet – that it is a conundrum, and that each era in time and each community in which it is performed comes up its own unique interpretation in line with a specific historical and social context.

***

NEXT – #3. Helen by Euripides (c. 480-407 BCE).

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