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04/11/2019 12:01 AMMany of us reluctantly read the classic Greek epic, The Iliad, prodded by high school or college English instructors. The experience wasn’t the most enjoyable experience, as I recall. It is a long epic poem about the last years of the Trojan War between Troy and Athens filled with references to the multiple Greek gods and their history.
So, if that memory is deterring you from seeing An Iliad at Long Wharf through Sunday, April 14, let it go!
This is a thrilling and entrancing production and performance by Rachel Christopher, who plays The Poet.
The adaptation, based on the translation by Robert Fagles, was written by playwright and director Lisa Peterson and playwright and actor Denis O’Hare. What they created is theatrical in the best meaning of the word.
For those who don’t remember their high school or college literature classics, the Greek epic poems by Homer and others were part of a strong oral tradition to preserve and pass on the history of the people. Thus, it makes perfect sense for The Poet to be talking to us and reciting/retelling the story.
An Iliad focuses on the last siege of Troy, which ended the war. Each side had its major figures: Achilles, Odysseus, Hector, Paris, and Helen (of Troy). These characters who are familiar to many help us stay grounded when we are seemingly overwhelmed by other characters and gods that may be less familiar. Some I recognized: Agamemnon, Meneleas, Ajax, and others. But only those very knowledgeable about Greek mythology will recognize all the names.
Yet that does not hinder your enjoyment. This adaptation combines three distinct elements of language: pieces from Fagles’s translation, some lines in Greek, and mostly modern English. The side comments to the audience by The Poet divert us and connects the story to our times.
Rather than the thrust stage of Long Wharf’s main stage, An Iliad is at Stage II, a more conventional space though it’s quite wide and narrow in depth. On one side set designer Daniel Soule has created a rocky promontory, but on the other side, it’s clearly the backstage area of a theater—the lights, the trunks for costumes, and the other theatrical paraphernalia.
It begins with Christopher setting the mood and providing both background and asides to the audience. Soon she is telling us the story—but it is not recitation; she both tells and inhabits some of the characters. About 10 minutes in (the show is 90-plus minutes), a man wanders in carrying an instrument case. This is Zdenko Martin, who plays The Muse. His main task is to provide music for The Poet, but late in the show, he does become one of the characters and has some lines.
Not only will you be caught up in the story of jealousy, possessiveness, love, valor, and war, but The Poet helps us see the connections and contradictions that we face even today. The destructiveness of these human emotions and their inevitability. The violence of war and its beauty. Near the end, she lists wars and genocides from that time until now: It is a moment you cannot forget as you realize the costs (both human and other) in this endless cycle of violence against each other.
Don’t be afraid that humor is lacking in the piece. It isn’t. Whether she is commenting on always picking the slowest line or other matters, you will laugh. I particularly liked when she asked the rhetorical questions “Where do old gods go?” and answered it with “Gods never die, they change and become our impulses.”
You will marvel at the ease of Christopher in a role that is long and complicated. She makes you think that you are not seeing stellar acting, but just real life. Credit must be given to director Whitney White for helping this to happen.
If you love good theater, make it a point to see An Iliad. For tickets, visit longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.