diary of a madman

I've been reconsidering how exactly this "blog" might function in relation to the wider theatrical project. When i considered up loading my journal entries from the first few workshop sessions i felt compelled to edit the material - to siphon out the potentially incriminating admissions. This is possibly the most natural impulse - to edit or remove ideas that went nowhere (indeed, were just bad ideas) and to soften critical observations of the performance of the troupe members. It seems common amongst artists and philosophers, when they enact their own creative character to the public auditorium, to pretend they never have bad ideas - as if the material that appears on stage is the only material they have had to grapple with. While i do not profess to know creative processes, let alone the inner thoughts, of other performance artists - i assume that this self presentation is simply not true. In discovering the pulse and rhythm of a piece, we must all wade thru a miasmic fog of second rate images and functionless choreographies.

So. I have decided to harness this "blog" as an online journal - publicly viewable and as painfully honest as possible. I apologise to all offended parties in advance.

What has happened of late? I just moved house and must admit that this has been extremely disruptive. The year of the golden fire pig has been a year in the sty thus far, and with all the recent 'personal' struggle, i've been finding it difficult to vest much creative energy in the production. And yet this is probably not a major problem. We do have approximately 6 months before we open - the appropriate production staff have been contacted and there is a lot of interest and excitement about the show. Despite difficulty in establishing contact, it would appear that we will almost definitely be performing at Dante's on Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, during the first or second week of October. It will be during the Melb Fringe Festival - a side matter in my opinion, though there is usually a lot of 'energy' about at that time, which may be a good thing... who knows.

The project itself is actually quite well established, all things considered. In our last session together we hop skip and jumped through the first ten minutes of the show, stringing together a seamless and very tight cascade of images. Similar to the original production, though deviating in some very interesting directions. Priam shall appear as if suspended from above, his ankle tied by a matted rope that disappears into the ceiling. This image is echoed by the presence of two lengths of rope hanging toward the rear of the stage (from the original production). This central image is an ode to the hanged man, Prometheus. After Poseidon's opening address to the audience, he shall sever the rope that seems to hold Priam in space - an appropriate display of gesture should suggest that he falls as the remainder of the rope disappears into the ceiling. Priam comes to rest on a bed of rice (some 30-40 kilos).

The final chorus member enters (the first two are on stage before the audience enter) - she holds a large black marble in her mouth. This refers to the Chinese tradition of placing a marble in the mouth of a Royal courtperson upon the moment of death. When the marble drops to the floor, it is the sound that wakes Priam. His opening speech commences. The chorus walk slowly across the stage, accumulating in a dark corner. They remain here until Cassandra emerges - her dance commences. This is where we are at. The map has been drawn, but it is still a large task, to discover exactly how each body shall move, what images and sensations the performers must visualise. Also, Talthybius enters during this sequence, bringing news of the Greek distribution of the women. A lot of work shall be required to compress and contain David's body into this twisted, impish figure.

I have just finished work and am exhausted - but Alex shall meet me here and we shall go to my abandoned old house and consider, for a while, how his transformation from Priam into Hecuba should travel. That's what is next - what follows i am yet to find. Hopefully the next post shall include some photos. Until next time - Ben

The original word

Hello all, i thought for nostalgic value it might be fun to record the cast list and director's notes from the original, 2004 program. Here tis:

Cast: Hecuba - Joanne Kian, Cassandra - Daniella Olea, Andromache - Kim Mitchell, Helen - Antonia Olthof, Talthybius - Piers Marsh, Poseidon - Benjamin Woods.

Notes - 'Euripides' dark tragedy, The Women of Troy has often been celebrated as one of the greatest anti-war plays ever written. For the purposes of this production, however, we have located the drama within the context of a mourning ritual. Alone, surrounded by the burning ruins of her once great city, Hecuba calls the dead to relive the loss of her family.

Drawing upon ideas from the Japanese dance form, butoh, this production explores questions about how we deal with the physical experience of grief.'

It is funny to look back on that particular moment, that audacious attempt at a theatrical project. Butoh was a huge influence on the aesthetic of the original design and physicalities, but it seems weird to have addressed this in the program. While we have continued to employ similar training methods,learned at workshops held by established 'butoh' practitioners, i would not make such a claim now. I do not feel any of us would feel compelled to make such statements about the aesthetic mood or physical style of the current attempt. Not yet, anyway. It might be suggested that it is very strange. Suffice to say, it is not realism.

external links of interest

I thouht a bit of info on the play, the playwright and ancient Greek mythology might be of interest to some, so i've posted some links on the right hand side of the page. I'll add more as we go along.

The blog is up

Ok. Its up now. I guess if this is supposed to be a record of the workshops and rehearsals, then we've got a little catching up to do. As a starting point, here are some points about the sort of work done thus far.

For this production we have taken some serious liberties with the original text. For example, the play's protagonist, Hecuba, has been replaced by a male figure, her husband, Priam. The motivating idea being that it is the king who has been left behind by the Greeks, after his wife, daughters and sons have been slaughtered before him. It is his punishment, that he should be left alone ammongst the burning ruins of his once great city. This may seem an odd decision to make, so i shall explain further. In ancient Greek social ritual it was the role of women to express grief on behalf of the community. Men, for the most part, did not participate. But what if there are no women left to enact the sacred rites? How is a king to grapple with the potentially self destructive excesses of grief? This question inspired the idea that Priam, in his traumatised delirium, dresses as Hecuba and assumes the role of the grieving mother. In order to give voice to his own painful losses, he channels his dead wife and summons the spirits of his fallen daughters.