Against

by Christopher Shinn

seen at the Almeida Theatre on 9 September 2017

Ian Rickson directs Ben Whishaw in this new play which investigates the ills of modern society through the mission of Luke, an IT billionaire, to 'go where the violence is'. Early in his 'project' he meets the parents of a young mass-murderer, hoping to discover something about the violence and perhaps to help them come to terms with it. In later developments, we see more of the people reacting to his 'project', rather than their direct interactions with him - indeed Luke becomes, against his will, something of a celebrity figure as his journeys across America are followed by the media.

Bakkhai

by Euripides in a new version by Anne Carson

seen at the Almeida Theatre on 10 August 2015

This is the second production in the Almeida Greeks season (following 'Oresteia', reviewed in June 2015). It is directed by James Macdonald and designed by Antony McDonald, and features Ben Whishaw, Bertie Carvel and Kevin Harvey with a chorus of ten women (the Bakkhai of the title). Music for the chorus is composed by Orlando Gough.

Unlike 'Oresteia', which was more of an interpretation than a translation, Anne Carson's version of this play follows the original more closely (apart from a few sly anachronisms to emphasise the disorienting effect of Euripides' black humour). The production too reflects a good deal of what is known about the original style of performance. The three actors play all the speaking roles, while the choric odes are sung, and even when the chorus speaks it is usually in unison and the voices often become songlike. The obvious points of departure from 'original practice' (so far as it is known) are that the chorus is performed by women rather than adolescent boys, and that there are no masks. The visual presentation of the speaking characters is, however, prominently stylised.