| |
Theatre listings >
Theatre Index >>
Women Of Owu.
- Tour & World Premiere.
An African Interpretation of Euripides' Trojan Women (first performed
415 BC in Greece).
Women Of Owu first performance was at The Theatre Chipping Norton on 2
February 2004.
Playwright - Femi Osofisan.
Director - Chuck Mike.
Assistant Director - Patricia Davenport.
Designer - Atlanta Duffy.
Assistant Designer and Propmaker - Mandarava.
Lighting Designer - Catronia Silver.
Sound Designer - Lee Stevens.
Musical Director - Juwon Ogungbe.
Choreographer - Aliu Olatunji.
Company - Collective Artistes - website.
and UK Arts International.
Cast - here .
Venue - Traverse Theatre Edinburgh.
Dates - 17 - 21 February 2004 at 7:30pm.
2003 Tour Dates and Times - here .
Seen to review at Traverse Theatre Edinburgh on 17 Feb 2004.
Run Time - 2hours 15mins including 15 mins interval.
Reviewer - Thelma Good.
The fusion increasingly satisfies.
Women Of Owu - Collective Artistes Production.
Lyunloye (Helen) - Funmi Olowe.
© Robert Day 2004
|
Setting his version in Nigeria just after the 1821 siege of the city
of Owu, Femi Osofisan's has fused the Greek original to his country's
past. The fusion increasingly satisfies and bears many resonances from
these pasts and reaching forward into our still war torn present days.
He has fired the ancient tale of Euripides' Trojan Womens with strong
and lyrical English where much of the action as it was in ancient times
taking place off stage. The women of Owu tell us of the ruined city, the
unburied bodies of all the slaughtered men, often in exceptional chorus
work where the words sounds, all the spoken text is in English use their
musical power.
All this out of sight incidents makes more powerful the final scenes of
the drama where the women have to leave to become slaves or wives of the
conquerors. In them the action comes on to the stage, so we have the agonizing,
heartstopping moment when Hazel Holder's Adumaadan (Andromache
in the Greek original) turns and we see the tiny foot of the only living
male of the Owu royal family secured for now on her back. Then there is
the sight of Funmi Olowe's Lyunloye (Helen), spoken of as a cause
of the war, as embodied by Olowe you believe she could have caused it,
and her husband Okunade (Menelaus) played by Rex Obana. He's the
artist turned soldier, she's the captured wife who has find a way back
to her first husband's heart after living with one of her captors in Owu.
Alternately taunting and standing up for her once daughter in law is Erelu
Afin (Hecabe), in Tosan Edremoda Ugbeye portrayal there is her
past might as Queen as well as her state now, deferred to by some as the
oldest woman but denigrate by others for her age as well as her past.
The production is multicultural in many ways with a production and creative
team drawn mainly from Britain and Nigeria. What you get is not a coming
from nowhere internationalism, this production is rooted in cultures,
one long gone, the others still present despite centuries of colonial
occupation and a shrinking globe. Tunde Euba's Anlugbua (Posideon) moves
as a Nigerian God moves in their own dramas, giving even British audiences
a far more understandable representation of a deity whose reasons and
logic are beyond our earthly understanding. Joining him on the astral
plane is Lawumi (Athene) clearly quietly, powerful in Louisa Eyo's playing.
Throughout there is music and song, some celebratory, some beautiful songs
of loss and pain and the remainder of the cast all add detail particularlyShola
Benjiman's sometimes comic chorus character.
The acting style when the production begins has a formal flavour accentuated
by the use of decorum*. But it's worth sticking with it. As the drama
grows towards its kernel scenes, the play becomes increasingly striking
as gods despair at humans inability to learn from history and women rail
against becoming captive by wars wrought supposedly for freedom. When
Euripides wrote the original play it was revolutionary in the way women
spoke, Osofisan's version gives revitalizing vigour and voice to its ancient
strength.
© Thelma Good 17 February 2004. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
*Decorum - in this sense a technical term used action which happens offstage.
Cast: The Greek equivalents are shown in brackets
Anlugbua (Posideon) - Tunde Euba, Erelu Afin (Hecabe) - Tosan Edremoda
Ugbeye, Chorus Leaders - Shola Benjiman and Louisa Eyo, Gesinde (Talthybius)
- Tunde Euba, Orisaye (Cassandra) - Medina Ajikawo, Lawumi (Athene) -
Louisa Eyo, Adumaadan (Andromache) Hazel Holder, Okunade (Menelaus) Rex
Obana, Lyunloye (Helen) - Funmi Olowe and Young woman of the chorus Amie
Bunhari. Chorus played by all members of the company.
Percussion - Ayo Thomas, Amie Buhari and Aliu Olatunji.
2004 Tour Details of Collective Artistes' production
of Women Of Owu .
Tour begins
2 - 7 Feb at Chipping Norton The Theatre 01608 642 350.
10 - 14 at Salisbury Playhouse Theatre 01722 320 333.
17 - 21 Feb at Edinburgh Traverse Theatre 0131 228 1404.
24 - 28 Feb at Bolton Octagon Theatre 01204 520 661.
3 - 6 March at London Oval House Theatre 020 7582 7680.
16 - 17 March at Keswick Theatre by The Lake 01768 774 411.
19 - 20 March at Chelmsford Civic Theatre 01245 606 505.
23 - 27 March at Plymouth The Drum Theatre Royal 01752 267 222.
Tour ends.
Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is
thelma@edinburghguide.com
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted
for any errors or omissions.
Theatre listings >
Theatre Index >>
|
|
