J n | o ~ T V V]E B B ÿ d H H d ÷F d ÿ ÿ ÿÿ ÿ J n | o ~ T V V]E B B ÿ d H H d ÷F d ÿ ÿ ÿÿ ÿ ÿ ÷ù ÷ü Z c÷By WENDY GROSSMANü Z Z_÷
ü Z c_÷Power. The power of words. The power to dominate another human being. The power to destroy life.
The screams that led into silence were deafening. I pulled my hair over my eyes, my hands flew up to my face. What had begun as an intensely acted reproduction of a Greek myth had suddenly come too close to my present. Set in a distant era, the show reeked of contemporary attitudes and the oppression of the female voice.
The power of women's words broke that silence in Sheafer Laboratory Theater last night in the opening of Timberlake Wertenbaker's "The Love of The Nightingale."
"It started off lightly, but it definitely took a major turn," said Trinity sophomore Robert Grohs. "It made me think."
"The Love of the Nightingale" enunciates the tragedy of women's inability to speak out against those who hurt them. It is a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of two sisters, Procne, played by Trinity junior Amy Webb, and Philomele, played by Trinity sophomore Timbre Henning, and the torture they face as they are isolated from each other with no one to talk to, no one to listen to their cries for help.
_Procne's logical approach throughout her interactions, combined with the inflections of her voice, were reminiscent of a dutiful Mary Poppins.
Henning was full of energy, passion and vibrance. Playing with conflicts of emotions, she went from a bubbly girl to a tormented woman who refuses to relinquish all power over her life.
The show set you on edge, because the violence was right in front of your face. When a man was strangled, it was believable, his neck was grasped firmly and the veins bulged out against his skin. Acts were played out on stage that I have never seen outside of MTV. I turned cold and felt ill.
Setting the show in this era allowed the playwright to speak about rape, violence, and the victimization of women who do not speak for themselves, who feel that they cannot speak without people tuning them out.
"I thought it was very powerful," said Richard Riddell, director of the drama program. "I think it was a very clear telling of a mythical story that has a lot of resonance for us today about acts of brutality." The violence was interspersed by humorous scenes, producing a show that was amazing and enjoyable, not merely bearable.
$The cast members were each very strong. Trinity senior Jen Sneider played Niobe, Philomele's servant, who begins as a very quiet, nondescript character intent on her sewing, delighting the audience with her motherly interjections. She emerges to tell of the injustices that have hardened her.
Trinity sophomore Taku Nimura portrayed well the many faces of his character--from seducer, murderer, and rapist, to confused and angry man. I wanted to scream at him, but instead I could only scrawl "NO" in my notebook. The show was alive from the moment the theater darkened and the chorus stomped in. From synchronized choreography to lines spoken in chorus, the actors were in touch with each other, even as they were very focused in sustaining the unique characters they created.
This is definitely a cast not to be missed, and a show that needs to be seen.
"The Love of the Nightingale" continues tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Sheafer Laboratory Theater. A post-show discussion will be follow tonight's performance. ÿ ÷ù ÷ü Z c_÷
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