Friday, September 16, 2011
Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses at the Hypocrites
Time Out Chicago: Sean Graney’s been distilling and deconstructing classic texts for a decade and a half with the Hypocrites (and, more recently, with tonier outfits such as Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Court Theatre and the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival). His adaptational approach might be described as an indifference to language and context but with a consummate reverence for theme. That’s certainly the case in his remarkably effective riff on Sophocles’ seven surviving plays. In the opening playlet, Creon (Zeke Sulkes) asks Oedipus (Jeff Trainor), “Are you, like, banishing me?”
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2 comments:
I think this is a great modern take on the old classics. It is defiantly risky making a 4 hour performance though. I like to make a day of seeing a show so for me longer is great. As long as the show is good it being longer makes me feel like I am getting my money's worth. However I can see how a show this long could be off putting to some people. This article doesn't go in depth about what the show entails I wish I could see it myself. The Greek classics have be reexamined and redone again and again, but I don't think in quite this way. The comparison of themes between all of Sophocles plays is something truly unique.
Wow, this sounds like it would be a great show to be able to see. I'm not sure exactly how he fuses the seven plays of Sophocles, but the theme that he has apparently extracted from all of them, that people are "fueled by vengeance, vanity and misguided ideas of honor," is definitely applicable and relatable today. However, for the people who are not theater geeks and aren't necessarily interested in the analysis/history of shows may not be motivated to sit through a four hour production. It will be a testament to his adaptation if it is truly compelling enough to consistently draw a modern audience. Gore would probably help, as would the creepy setting of an a clinic.
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