Greek myths have a timeless appeal and it was exciting to be able to sit down in a semi-circle, appropriately enough in a library of all places, though it could have been around a hearth or fire, to enjoy this poetic retelling of a tale from the age of Troy. No special effects or gimmicks, just a couple of props and the power of human connection.
As a fan of Stephen Fry’s Troy and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, I was intrigued to see how poet, classicist and actress Jo Kelen would reframe the familiar plot. Her angle was concision and precision. In the 45 minutes of performance time we raced through the entire story from the romantic meet-cute of Achilles and Patroclus to the inevitable tragic death, spite and revenge.
Happily, that ferocious pace was balanced by her poise and calm stage presence. She was controlled and measured in her delivery from start to finish. The confidence with which she moved from one character to another, sometimes giving a simple little gestures and voice changes to delineate them, sometimes just saying 'this is Agamemnon speaking', made the one woman presentation of a wide cast of characters easy to follow.
Kelen's voice was so slow and mesmeric that I was sometimes hypnotised into simply following its rhythm and losing track of the story. It took some concentration to stay focused on the plot and not just be lulled into a meditative trance by her serpentine sound.
Overall, an elegant, sophisticated and pared down retelling of one of Greek mythology most powerful stories of love and war.
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