Mythologies
Adolescence. Mythologies is above all a play about the torturous confusion and frustration that comes from that crisis of identity at the brink of adulthood. Seasoned writer/director duo Edward Saatchi and Michael Donkor display rare creativity and originality in modernising a Greek myth, imbuing the story with relevance to the modern world The central narrative concerns the struggle between nurse (Anna Kelly) and grandmother (Sophie Kainradl) for the affections of pubescent boy Attis.
While one seeks to keep him forever innocent, the other begs him to become a man, and in both relationships there is a strong sexual undercurrent. However, the directors have used the technique of ‘focalisation’ to tell the story through the eyes of Attis, unsettling the audience through the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality.
The audience is struck with the gradual realisation that the pressures and abuses that Attis suffers are in fact figments of his imagination, the two women are merely voicing the duality of his fears and desires. The Oedipal theme is ever present, as the play explores the complexities of maternal devotion and the changing nature of a child’s love. The play is effective in part because its concerns are universally applicable; adolescence has plagued us all.
Moreover, the wider conceptual and political references are equally recognisable. The nurse claims Attis will ‘stop being loved’ if he grows up, articulating his, and every other adolescent’s fear of adulthood and desire to cling to the familiar safety of childhood and the mother figure. She promises to take Attis to a ‘new world’, a kind of utopia wherein he can remain forever young.
The theme has resonances of Peter Pan, not least due to the pirate (Jack Ream) who kills all who venture to search for this elusive paradise. Symbolism is inherent in the production, beginning with the decision that Attis be played by a female actor (Felicity Jones), who convincingly communicates his tortured confusion and the ambiguity of his sexuality. Her expressions and nervous agility convey his fear and rejection of both women, as well as the onset of his self-loathing.
Kelly portrays the nurse as youthful and overtly sexually, suggestively stroking Attis with her legs. When tied to a chair and subjected to the violent ‘justice’ enacted by the politician (Henry Shevlin), her impotent anger suggests a misogynistic world in which women are liable to abuse. Conversely, Kainradl is commanding as the stern grandmother, at times dominating the stage with her majestic diction.
This is an excellent production, displaying impressive talent on the part of the directors in particular. The script artfully conveys the various layers of meaning, and is sensitively performed throughout.
9th Jun 2005