The Penelopiad
Where: Langham Court Theatre
When: Opens tonight, continues to May 10
Tickets: $19, $21 (250) 384-2142
Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad takes its cue from Greek mythology. But don’t expect a dry, academic evening of theatre.
So says Wendy Merk, who directs Langham Court Theatre’s new production of Atwood’s play, boasting original music and a whopping cast of 15.
“I think, because of that title, some people will say, ‘Whoa, OK,’ and they don’t want to know anything more about it. Which is a shame, because it’s really very entertaining,” said Merk, who has previously directed such Langham Court productions as Better Living and Isn’t It Romantic.
“For the most part it’s interesting and provocative. It’s stimulating. It makes you think. And it’s funny, too.”
The Penelopiad was originally a bestselling 2005 novella by Atwood. She then adapted it as a play, first staged in 2007 as a co-production between the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Arts Centre.
It’s Greek mythology told from a female perspective. Penelope, speaking from a present-day vantage point, talks about her birth in Sparta, marrying Odysseus and the events leading up to the Trojan Wars. We also hear about her aprés-death travails.
Historically, Penelope is viewed as the long-suffering wife waiting for her husband to return. But in this play, rather than an abstract symbol of female virtue, Atwood presents her as a real human being.
Atwood has described The Penelopiad as “cabaret,” which is a description Merk agrees with. While the set and costumes evoke ancient Greece, the irreverent play has a decidedly modern touch.
“We have red-feather boas in it, which actually look quite cool with the white tunics,” Merk said.
In one Act II sequence, the all-female cast was specifically instructed to whoop it up.
“I told them to just do what you want and be as raunchy as you want. It reminds me of the feel of [the musical] Cabaret, where the female chorus is quite raunchy,” she said.
The script comes with no accompanying musical score, however, the original RSC/NAC co-production did have music. Merk contacted the producers to see if she could track down a score but they didn’t respond.
So Langham Court took matters into their own hands, contacting the University of Victoria to see if student composers were willing to write new music.
Two composers were selected. Ivana Jokic and Liam Gibson have collaborated on a recorded score, using computer software to replicate such instruments as harps, lyres, drums and flutes. The styles range from folk songs to music that’s reminiscent of nursery rhymes.
Jokic, who now lives in Kitchener, Ont., has a master’s degree in composition from UVic. Gibson, in his third year at UVic, is a Nanaimo native who has played in bands ranging from metal to electronica.
Gibson said his biggest challenge was trying to reflect both the darkness and humour inherent in The Penelopiad’s script.
“I wound up opting to play it fairly straight,” he said. “The attempts I made to make some of the music more overtly comical wound up sounding rather stilted.”
Merk, who also designed the set, says her greatest difficulty has been attempting to meld The Penelopiad’s disparate elements. Because nothing in Langham Court’s wardrobe was suitable, work on hand-sewn costumes began months ago.
Aside from the original score, the play also boasts new choreography created by Sylvia Hosie.
Hosie said only a few of the cast members have previous dance experience. They’ve worked hard to create “good stage pictures” such as recreating a sailing ship.
“They’re rolling around on the floor a lot, throwing themselves around. And they’ve got the bruises to prove it,” she said.