At Music Theatre Wales |
| Music Theatre Wales- Greek , Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre , October 4, 2013 |
Greek may not be the fainthearted with its brutal language and imagery, incendiary angry central character and throat-grabbing shock tactics. Yet its success in creating empathy rather than loathing leaves the audience absorbed rather than repelled.Based on Steven Berkoff’s 1980s reworking of the Oedipus story – a son unknowingly kills his father, marries his mother, and rips out his eyes when he realises what he has done – Greek is rooted in the author’s loathing of what he saw as the morale quagmire of the Thatcher era. Yet the themes of individual alienation within a broken society are sufficiently timeless that the transposition holds true today. The setting is East End London where the angry young man Eddy aspires to escape and better himself, so leaves his parents and battles his way through the riots and a plague ridden society, ending up in a café where he murders the owner and marries the wife. They, of course turn out to be his real parents. In a twist our anti-hero does rip out his eyes but then rejects this bleakness and the ensemble explain it is “only love” ending the drama on an edgy, uncomfortable high. Along the way he have clever dramatic invention with the three supporting principals adopting a host of roles, from booted cops to cockney characters, while the musical ensemble join in the riot shield beating, foot stomping, shouting and whistle blowing maelstrom. Yes, the language is foul-mouthed, the imagery brutal, the politics ugly and disturbing. But that is the intention and nothing is gratuitous. The audience clearly embraced it all giving an enthusiastic response to the rock solid performances and conductor Michael Rafferty’s handling of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s blazing score with its multifaceted melding of styles from Vaudeville to Weill, via jazz and soccer chants. As Eddy baritone Marcus Farnsworth is vocally and dramatically mesmerising, combining charm, danger and angst in perfect balance while Sally Silver, Louise Winter and Gwion Thomas magnificently weave in and out of their various characters. In Music Theatre Wales 25th year, Michael McCarthy’s no nonsense staging, using few props, stark imagery on a brick backdrop and incorporating the musicians as a form of chorus is perfect for the cutting political and social bite of the work. |
Reviewed by: Mike Smith |
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