Review of Apmhitryon; or, the Two Sosias dir. by Michael Cordner

Abstract

Reviewed by: Review of Apmhitryon; or, the Two Sosias dir. by Michael Cordner Elaine McGirr Review of Apmhitryon; or, the Two Sosias. Dir. Professor Michael Cordner Jun 15-18 2017 University of York, Department of Theatre, Film & Television, https://amphitryontftv.com/ Jupiter desires the beautiful but faithful Alcmena, so assumes her absent husband Amphitryon's form to enjoy her. Mercury takes on Amphitryon's servant Sosia's shape to keep watch. The early return of the real Amphitryon and Sosia threatens to expose Jupiter's deception and destroy the domestic peace just as the victorious Amphitryon returns home from his foreign wars. This basic summary makes it easy to see the attractions of the Amphitryon myth for dramatists: a plot that unites theatrical spectacle with questions of identity and constancy, metatheatrical commentary on the art of acting or impersonation, and the opportunities provided for both heroics and farce by the intermingling of gods and mortals. John Dryden's 1690 Amphitryon does all this and more, and for this reason [End Page 112] was popular with actors and audiences for well over a hundred years. Michael Cordner's new production for the University of York proves that Amphitryon works as effectively in the twenty-first century as it did in the Restoration. Click for larger view View full resolution Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 113] The play marks a departure from Dryden's earlier tragicomedies, such as Marriage a la Mode (1673), which neatly separates high and low plots until the comic denouement restores right rule at home and at court. Amphitryon's structure and conclusions are altogether messier, befitting Dryden's sense of the post-Glorious Revolution settlements and appealing to modern suspicion of overly tidy narratives. Amphitryon's two plots – Jupiter's impersonation of Amphitryon to enjoy Alcmena and Sosia's comic attempts to know himself when faced with his double, the disguised Mercury – interrupt each other and share stage space throughout the play, leading to intrigue, accident, and a questionably happy ending. Alcmena's story is hard to parse without clear generic guidelines: how audiences feel about what happens to her depends on whether she is in a comedy or tragedy. Jupiter's desire to "owe nothing to so dull a name as Husband" is taken straight from a Restoration proviso scene, in which the gay couple pledge to retain the passionate intensity of courtship; at the same time, Alcmena's unwitting adultery is also the plot of she-tragedies, such as Thomas Otway's The Orphan (1680) in which Monimia is tricked into consummating her marriage with her husband's twin – and must die for this sexual fault. Is Alcmena the passionate mistress or the ruined wife? When it premiered in 1690, Amphitryon was one of the highlights of an otherwise disappointing season. The play, groused John Downes, was one of the handful that succeeded more than "indifferently." This faint praise is a useful summary of the play's performance history: Amphitryon; or the Two Sosias had a good initial run, thanks in part to Henry Purcell's contribution of three original songs, and was revived regularly, but not frequently, throughout the Restoration and eighteenth century before falling out of the repertory in the mid nineteenth century as newer versions of the Amphitryon myth succeeded Dryden's telling. Michael Cordner's production is the first modern revival of note. Thomas Betterton created the role of Jupiter, the god who upstages mortal Amphitryon at every turn; indeed, Amphitryon was given to lesser actors from the role's inception. Joseph Williams, the original Amphitryon, was ever but a pale imitation of Betterton. This casting would seem to encourage audiences to see Jupiter as the worthier lover, and thus also encourage audiences to sympathize with, rather than condemn, Alcmena. This solicitation of audience sympathy became more explicit when the role passed from Betterton to the seductive Robert Wilks, who made Jupiter one of his signature roles. His Jupiter attracted audiences and Alcmenas for more than twenty years. Betterton was a heroic lead; Wilks a romantic one. In the hands of Betterton or Wilks, Jupiter's seduction plot fell neatly into comic rake territory. Throughout the Wilks...