Review: An Iliad at Seattle Repertory Theatre
Hans Altwies in An Iliad. Photo: Chris Bennion.The Seattle Repertory Theatre is ending it’s 2009-2010 season with the a world-premiere presentation in the Leo K. Theatre of the play An Iliad. The play is based on Homer’s THE ILIAD, translated by Robert Fagles and adapted by Denis O’ Hare and Lisa Peterson. The 90 minute one person show has Seattle’s own Hans Altwies as the poet.
And a primer for folks like myself who kind of remember bits and pieces from school about this epic poem; The poem tells the tale of the Trojan War between the Greek states led by King Agamemnon and of the siege of Troy, which lasted for ten years. The war was started by Paris who stole Helen and the war ended with with the Trojan Horse.
The world weary (seen it all/done it all) poet walks on to the stage. The stage setting is a stark set with only a few props, looking pretty much like a stage not yet set up, except for a table, chair, ladder and a few props in the corner. He checks the paper to see what city he’s working in. “Ah! Seattle.”
That’s when the play takes flight and Hans Altwies as the storyteller of Homer’s sweeping saga of gods, heroes, and war starts to weave the tale and draw you in. Mr. Altwies’ role as a storyteller is captivating and bring alive with his voice the movement upon the stage and a performance.
A performance about the Trojan war that you begin to understand the people caught up in this story. He gives you insight into the fight between King Agamemnon and Achilles. He tells you about the players in this drama so that it’s not just dry history, and he seems to be an ageless person who actually knew these people. Fascinating details he lays out, like your favorite family member telling you stories about your own family history.
(L-R) Lisa Peterson, Hans Altwies, andDenis O’Hare. Photo by Chris Bennion.
An Iliad also shows the aspects of war no matter when it takes place. The director, Lisa Peterson, remarked when working on the play that “Somewhere in the world, people are always fighting.” You see how this is used in the play, when the storyteller talks about Troy under siege. The ships in the harbor filled with thousands of young men from the different Greek cities who would like to be home and not at war. He starts to name some of the Greek cites that mean nothing to me, dead history. But then he asks, “you know these young men, fellows from Kansas city,” he goes on name other cities that are familiar to everyone. You start thinking about people you know, now serving. There were several instances during the play where this is used in different ways to show the ageless phenomenon of war and conflict. This makes for a very gripping 90 minutes.
An Iliad plays at Seattle Rep through May 16, 2010. Tickets range from $30-$52 but anyone 25 and under may purchase tickets for only $12 for any performance (with ID – call for details). For more info about An Iliad, visit www.seattlerep.org.
– Ethel W.
