|
|
|
|
|
Voice of the silent minority
Penelope RETOLD
Birmingham Rep Door
***** CAROLINE Horton
is a hugely celebrated artist in touring and fringe theatre. Pervious
works such as Mess
and You’re Not Like Other Girls Chrissy
have won countless awards and Horton was nominated for an Olivier Award
in 2013. The evidence of her
work justifies these prestigious accreditations. Horton, a wonderful
performer, writer and all round pleasure to behold is outstanding in her
most recent project, Penelope RETOLD. In a project commissioned by the Derby Theatreas
part of the RETOLD programme takes the character from Homer’s epic
The Odyssey and gives her the voice that was seen as silent for
thousands of years. Horton celebrates the female voice and reflects
Penelope’s character loud and clear with which audiences of our time can
finally empathise. This is what make’s Horton’s Penelope interesting. As
an audience, we know the basis of the character and are no stranger to
the story of Odysseus’ battle at Troy, but now we have seen another
side. The voice of the once silent finally has her say. Penelope’s husband has gone to fight at war,
Troy. Now Penelope is left at home temporarily a single mother,
remaining loyal to her child and husband amongst a batch of leery
suitors until Odysseus’ return. Penelope waits for nineteen years until
he comes back only to tell her that he must leave again. Horton has a clever approach to storytelling and
her creative inspiration oozes in every moment. From start to finish we
see Penelope in a different way. She has kept the classic Greek context
but her brilliant mastery of art meant that we did not need to be
scholars of the epic poem to understand the character. She is also wonderful at highlighting the
universal emotions showing what women throughout the history of time
have had to endure. Horton takes a character etched in fiction and
history and gives a new and loveable depiction. Horton’s Penelope is
something that has never been seen before. Horton injects a great sense of fun into her
portrayal of not only the character but also the story. The artist
allows her own creativity to shine through the canvas of Penelope and
brings her into our world. In Horton’s version, Penelope is a military wife,
pining for the return of her husband. Her performance space is their
bed, and Horton never moves from it. A simple set it may seem, but on
this bed we enter a world where we are exposed to Penelope’s past,
present and most importantly, see the effects that nineteen years of
waiting has on the mind of a young woman. Horton is a talented actor in her own right. It
is through Penelope that an emotional connection right the way through
is created. The audience are hooked, and even though this piece is
fairly short in length, with an hour’s running time, Horton casts her
spell and has us in her clutch every single second. The audience are
also part of this production. At the start of the show, we are asked to
describe ourselves in three words. We then find that Penelope is looking
for a suitor amongst us all later on in the show. With the direction of Lucy J Skilbeck, the two
create a masterpiece. It is a hugely endearing response to the classic
tale, but also an important message that gives the voice to women within
contemporary theatre. Through Penelope, the divisive, brave and
wonderful creativity of theatre is celebrated. This show is lively, fun, and utterly remarkable.
It is a great and entertaining piece that mixes the educational with the
creative. Horton, Skilbeck and all of the creative team have made their
own mark in history with thier new response to the tragic female voice
of Homer’s Odyssey. Elizabeth Halpin
01-04-15
|
|
|
|
