Fringe, Reviewed: Living in Exile
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
"A timeless war story, all too relevant to today's conflicts around the world."
[ theater ]
Living in Exile: A Retelling of The Iliad, by Philadelphia Experimental Theatre Ensemble
Attended: Thurs., 9/18, 7:30 p.m., Plays & Players Skinner Studio; closes 9/21, 3 p.m.
Follow Achilles’ and Briseis’ journey from obsession with anger and revenge to a single act of compassion.
WE THINK:
Theresa Epp's staging maintains the living room-style feel of Lipsky's faithfully Homeric, yet contemporary and clear adaptation. Just two actors -- Chris Latzke as super-warrior Achilles, BFF Patroklos and King Agamemon, and Michelle Pauls as captured companion Briseis -- tell the entire 10-year tale. Daniel Ison and Steve Crino provide subtle, evocative accompaniment with guitar, drums, keyboard, and cymbals.
Though framed as a human story about war, not an ancient Greek history, Epp inconsistently Greek-ifies the tale. Latzke wears modern, vaguely military clothes (with sneakers?), while Pauls wears a long print dress that's more a costume. Epp also stages awkward and unnecessary scene changes. Serving the audience wine and bread feels superfluous (though yummy).
"Keep it in the living room," I found myself wishing, "Don't try so hard to make this intimate sharing than it needs to be." Moreover, there was a need to perform the stripped-down theatrical effects consistently. When Pauls mimes shooting an arrow, she correctly makes a "swoosh" sound as it flies from her bow; when Latzke does it, he "swooshes" as he pulls the bowstring back.
Latzke shares the story with energy and clarity, but seems the wrong choice for two of his roles, most notably when his stuffy Agamemnon converses with his fussy Achilles: how can he play two characters at once when neither is well-defined? Pauls fares better, particularly in the harrowing tale of Briseis' survival when the marauding Greeks sack her village and all the women and children commit suicide rather than face rape and violent deaths.
Overall, though, the production succeeds as intended: Living in Exile is a timeless war story, all too relevant to today's conflicts around the world.
