Congratulations to the cast, crew and musicians of The Odyssey, spectacularly staged last week in the Sackville Theatre. Directed by Mr Henry, this modern, musical version of David Farr’s play captivated audiences with its immersive staging, physical theatre and live bands.
With a modern setting, Farr’s play explores themes of memory, identity and the importance of home. The cast developed this further, challenging the audience to consider the story from different perspectives, with four actors deftly sharing the part of Odysseus – Marjolaine Mauduit, Eva Wang, Gabriel Muchoki and James Ellershaw.
The contemporary Greek chorus transported the audience with Odysseus, from the depths of the Cyclops’s cave to the island of the Sirens, to a shipwreck and eventually to Ithaca. The narrative was framed by scenes in a detention centre where Odysseus is held along with displaced Trojans, led by a young girl, Maira (Nadia Reavy), and where two interrogators (Krish Misra and Bruno Millward) teased out his story with impeccable comic timing.
Drawing inspiration from the novel Circe by Madeline Miller, the production questioned the representation of female characters in Homer’s epic.
The two live student bands and vocalists wowed the audience with a stream of pop and rock songs, superbly directed by Ms Day.
This was an absolute triumph for everyone involved, and particularly for Mr Henry, for whom it marked 12 years since his ambitious promenade production of An Odyssey, one of the first theatrical productions to take place in The Space.
Photos can be found here.
