phaedre.txt

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http://www.nightnews.net/fringe2007.htm#ph
Title: Phaedre
5 gold bats
http://offstage.x13n.com/tanzania.htm

12 08 07 - The outdoor promenade performance of Racine's Phaedre by 
Offstage Theatre in conjunction with Historic Scotland, C Venues and
held in the historic ruins of Craigmillar castle was one of the 
highest points of the 2007 Fringe. With a talented and experienced 
cast, every aspect of the company's effort paid close attention to 
detail, from direction and adaptation to the highest production values
in staging, costumes, installations, sound, music and design. It also
fostered some laudable community involvement and integrated aspects
of the castles mythology and history with the customs of more recent
immigrants to the area. You can read more about this at the official
link for the show http://offstage.x13n.com/tanzania.htm 

The courtesy C venues bus drops the audience at the castle gates, its 
a short walk to the ruins where the production is performed each night
at dusk. Not being familiar with the narrative of the classical 
tragedy or of Racine's version is by no means a disadvantage. This 
works all the better to assist in the appreciation of this original
interpretation of both that the production embodies. 

The audience are drawn into the story as they are led to penetrate 
the deeper recesses, turrets, chambers and spaces of the ruined
castle. This is an experience which does not detract from the play. 
From an athletic clash with sword and buckler featuring Hippolytus in
a small courtyard to set the scene; we are drawn into darker parts of
the castle and the story, shadowed by a black robed chorus from 
turrets and windows, chanting to dark ambient music. All the better
by which to have revealed Phaedres 'forbidden' desires. 'When Theseus
died everything changed,' and a pair of doves spontaneously flying 
through that chamber make it all seem the more plausible! Further
in the depths of the ruins and up some steps into the main drawing 
room, aromatics burning lend an unexpectedly rich sensory authenticity
to the action. Theseus lives, Hippolytus and Aricia are in love, 
Phaedre is jealous but its Oenone that pays the price of standing 
too close to this complex web of tortured desires, relationships and
duplicity. 

Theseus is played as a hard but thoughtful man in a cruel dilemma, 
Phaedres hubris is complex and every line causes those involved in
her story to tremble! In fact it is becoming so cold that the audience
is shivering by the time we move from the windy roof of the old castle
to reach the location of the final outdoor scene. By then Hippolytus 
is reported dead, the bodies including Phaedre and Oenone have piled 
up. All to the Chorus' final highly atmospheric funeral dirge, the
beat of a tambour and Aricia's cries of grief. Theseus and Aricia 
retire to the distant castle gates, enter and close the castle up.
Its sunset, the Chorus exits right and the audience is left to try
and warm up by energetically clapping. The spell is broken and only
our imperfect memories of this amazing experience will remain. 
Indubitably one of the better Fringe experiences of 2007!

by John Vassallo