saturday night i had the pleasure of seeing the right brain project's THE BACCHAE REVISTED.
what: the bacchae revisited originally by euripides, interpreted by rbp
where: the right brain project's rorschach space: 4001 n ravenswood
accompaniment: trusty theatre goer dustin as well as friend & castmate ally!
drinkability: tops. the actors serve you wine and about halfway through the show they refill it for you.
show length: 90 minutes, no intermission
out of four: three and a half/four
i've been attending the right brain project's work for a couple of seasons now, and wanted to audition for the bacchae when it was announced, but alas, i knew i would be in a production during the same run time. luckily, my show was dark on saturday night so it was the perfect chance to catch the bacchae and a few of my friends perform in the small space in irving park.
you enter into a dimly lit room and are immediately offered wine. kind of the best deal ever, right? all of the cast is already out on "stage", which is essentially the entire room you're in, save from the few chairs that the audience are seated on. the actors were obviously encouraged to talk with the audience as they came in and i had a pleasant conversation with an actress in front of me, as well as some greetings by fellow actors i've worked with before. the confusing part of this was the actors weren't interacting with you as characters (many introduced themselves by their real names as well as my friends casually talking to me about things outside of the show), and we aren't 'shown' that the play has started until after the actors assemble, wish each other 'good show', and then begin. i liked the soft-spoken, dim, wine-filled introduction into the show, yet why not completely immerse the audience by already being in character from the first introduction?
i wasn't familiar with the bacchae before coming into the show (which is always the best in my opinion...to go in with no expectations) and when i left i kicked myself for never being exposed to it before. its a story about women who ban together who are powerful and feared and courageous and downright badass. there's strong nudity in this show but there's also an incredibly strong sense of ensemble and kinship among the women. they have subtle smiles, constantly grazing each other's arms in support, and altogether work wonderfully as a unit. either this group of women really connected through their process or they're simply incredible actors. or both.
the men are not to be snubbed either. the smaller male ensemble spent the majority of the show in masks but with physical and combat direction from orion couling, they moved, danced, fought, and tumbled around the small space with great force. joe ramski played the one male character on the women's side and played it well. its easily the best role i've seen joe in in the last couple of years i've worked with him.
all in all, i applaud right brain for their efforts and for this all-encompassing performance. it's not perfect by any means, but they successfully created a world that you were engrossed in from the moment you stepped through the curtain.
and the wine ALWAYS helps.
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upcoming april shows:
tuesday april 23rd 7pm: the unrehearsed shakespeare company's much ado about nothing
TBD: sideshow theatre project's maria/stuart
TBD: mary arrchie's the brig
TBD
join me, will you?
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