Tyranny of The Text: The Bacchae

Abstract

Tyranny ofTheText:TheBacchae PETER MEINECK JDacchaes abound inNew York.In thesummer of 2008, theLincolnCenterFestivalpresented theNational Theaterof Scotland'sproduction,directedbyJohnTiffany and starring Alan Cummingas Dionysos. (I reviewedthe originalEdinburghproductionin Arion 15.2 [Fall 2007]). Then in August 2009, The Public Theater in New York stageda brand-new versionhelmedbyJoanneAkalaitis, with an originalscorebyPhilipGlass,at theDelacorteTheaterin CentralPark.* So what is it about The Bacchae thatinspired two major New Yorkproductions in justone year?JoanneAkalaitis renowneddirector , co-founder of Mabou Mines,and former Artistic DirectorofthePublicTheater - is on recordthatshe considersEuripides "the greatestlivingplaywright before Shakespeare"(American Theater, July/August 2009) and that in heropinionThe Bacchae is an enigma:"We reallydon't havea mechanism to internalize itsviolence - itsstrangeness." One hastobe a little worried whena director ofAkalaitis' caliberandtalentdescribes a production sheis aboutto direct as "an enigma,"and ithas to be added thatthisis moreoften thannottheprevailing attitude thatliesbehindcontemporary stagings ofGreektragedy. I am notsureitis possibleto stage "an enigma,"buttheactorsat theDelacortewerecertainly trying their hardest to be enigmatic. Andtherein laytheessentialproblemwiththisBacchae ; nobodyseemedto have any notionofwhatthey wereactually trying to do. *TheBacchaebyEuripides, translated byNicholas Rudall, directed byJoanne Akalaitis; original musicbyPhilipGlass;produced by ThePublic Theater attheDelacorte Theater, July-August 2009. ARION I7.2 FALL 2OO9 82 TYRANNY OF THE TEXT Theplayopened with a portentous discordant drone from thesmallgroupofmusicians clustered stageright andthis wasthecueto bring on theactors, from upstage entrances rising ontothelargecircular performing spaceoftheDelacorte . Thestageitself was surrounded bya smallrivulet of water andsevered downthemiddle bya jaggedfissure that glowedan angry redandpuffed intermittent wispsofstage smoke. So farso good - itwouldbehardtofind a better locationforGreektragedy thanthenear-two-thousand-seat open-air Delacortewhichhad beenbuiltin 1962 witha Greek theater inmind. Itwasa humid August night, thetheater wasfull, andthe audience wastreated tothemarvelous pre-show spectacle of a family ofraccoons gamboling acrossthestage.Unfortunately thiswas nottheonlytimethesegarrulous creatures grabbed ourattention - moreonthat later. Andthencametheactors walking thatwalk.You know thewalkI mean,anyofus whoregularly attend performancesofGreek tragedy haveseenitmany times before: that slow, ponderous, acutely self-absorbed andaboveall,serious walk.TheGreek playwalkletsusknowthatwe,theviewingpublic , aregathered to watchsomething very, very important ;the Greekplay walk has become a modern theatrical ritual, butonewedon'treally understand. Itsignifiessomething grave andmonumental andwe inturn must showduedeference andrespect. Itcannotbe compared to other solemnized forms ofpedestrian travel: theushers who paceslowly uptheaisleofa church havea sense ofpurpose, a destination, andthesymbols they carry radiate meaning; thesoldiers sliding their feet totherhythmic beatofa lone snare-drum as theyslow-march at a military funeral are transported bya senseofcommunal grief, dignity, and a spirit ofresolve. No, theGreek playwalkis devoidofany meaning - itisofitself enigmatic andwhenI sawitonstage attheDelacorte myheart sank. I can'tonlyblame Joanne Akalaitis for myresponse toher Bacchae.Infact, there wasmuchtopraise, particularly her PeterMeineck 83 chorus: although itfailed togeldramatically, this wasanincredibly brave attempt toplacechoral action atthecenter of thework - again,something I willreturn to inmoredetail below.Rather, itseemsendemic intheperformance culture oftheUnited States toapproach Greek dramaas something completely alien, overly ritualistic, andmoreoften thannot, totally incomprehensible. Nor am I saying thatI coulddo anybetter: I haverunintothesameentrenched, misguided notions aboutGreek theater from superb professional actors andhavehada very hardtimeconvincing them otherwise. SoI amuncomfortable criticizing another artist's work withoutat leasttrying to understand theprinciples guiding its formation andalwaystrying totakeintoconsideration that theater is oneofthemostsubjective ofall artforms. ButI justcan'tgiveup ontheideathatwecanproduce effective andthrilling Greek tragedy ontheAmerican stage. Wehave inthepast - LeeBreuer's Gospelat Colonuswasoneofthe most moving experiences ofGreek drama I havewitnessed and we can again.We justneed,onceand forall,to acknowledge thatbig,old,twentieth-century elephant inthe rehearsal room, andfree ourselves from theabsolute tyranny ofthetext. Tenyears ago,inanexcellent essaythatsurveyed thevarioustheoretical approaches toGreek drama, Simon Goldhill addressed thethen-current stateofwhathe called"stagecraft criticism" bydescribing thetext-based analytical approachofOliver Taplinandtheperformance-theory studies ofDavidWiles.He concluded that there remained "a highly problematic issue:howtomovefrom a script toa performance ."1It seemsto methatGoldhill putthequestion the wrong wayround.Shouldwe notbe asking howperformancemovedto a script? We simply don'tknowifa script wasevenpartofthecreative process ofGreek tragedy; there isno evidence atallforanyone reading thetextofa Greek tragedy until thelatefifth century where Aristophanes has Dionysossaying thathe readEuripides' Andromeda while serving onanAthenian warship inAristophanes' Frogs (406 84 TYRANNY OF THE TEXT bc) andEupolis, ina fragment alsodatedtothat time, mentions a section oftheAgorawhere books(notexplicitly dramatic ) couldbepurchased.2 Inthefourth century, plays were certainly revived, andPlutarch tells usthat Lycurgus hadofficialcopiespreserved in a statelibrary to prevent actors from taking toomany liberties with the"original" versions. It was thesetextsthatmadetheir wayto Alexandria and formed thebasisfor thecopiesthat havecomedowntous. MightI thenventure so faras to suggest thatperhaps there mayhavebeennowritten scripts usedinthecreation of Greektragedy? In a culture thattaught itschildren to memorize theentire...