By Aeschylus
Translation to Hebrew: Aharon Shabtai
Created by Ruth Kanner
Actors: Shirley Gal, Tali Kark, Ronen Babluki, Adi Meirovitch, Neta Nadav, Assaf Degani, Sharron Harnoy, Milli Ravid
Music: Mika Danny
Musician: Avshalom Ariel
Dances: Shirley Gal
Spatial Design: Ruth Kanner
Lighting Design: Shaked Vax
Costume Design: Shirley Gal Segev
Production: Gbriella Willenz
“Do not madden our young men
With the hiss of the whetstone
And the dream of the plunging blade.
Do not swell their pride
With the dream of purging themselves
Of all their bodily violence
In the rapture of battle.
Do not addict them
To the drug of danger –
The dream of the enemy
That has to be crushed, like a herb,
Before they can smell freedom.”
[EUMENIDES, lines 858-866]
Translation by Ted Hughes
Greek Tragedy as Contemporary Theater
Theater is a meeting place where people reinterpret their present through the mirror of the past, where they tell again and again past experiences, from far away cultures, to their contemporaries, their audiences.
With every performance of Ancient Greek Drama we are faced with basic questions concerning man, society, culture and theater.
Working on Aeschylus’ EUMENIDES, we are confronted with questions concerning the presentation of gods in a postmodern world; with the presentation of supernatural powers, the Furies; the journey of Orestes and the inevitable trial where he realizes his duties to family and country; and finally, the transformation of vindictive powers into blessed favorable ones.
We also have to ask ourselves questions about the theatrical aspects: The movement in a round space, reminiscent of the “classical” shape of the orchestra, the nature of choral movement and songs and the relationship that take place, during the performance of tragedy, between the single actor and the chorus.
Following Aeschylus we embark on a theatrical journey. Reliving the past through theatrical experiences helps us keep the struggle for a better and more valuable human existence.
Professor Nurit Yaari
THE EUMENIDES
Eumenides is an ancient play, holding powerful insights that are highly relevant to our contemporary life.
With dramatic sweep and by means of an exciting plot, the text brings human central conflicts to the stage: The clash between male and female intensities, between wild drives and the good order of civilization, between the rules of earth and the rules of heaven.
The wonderful wisdom underlying the play’s structure enables these clashes to unfold on the stage as parallel options. We, as spectators, can identify with the Furies’ viewpoints as well as with that of Orestes. We ourselves can be torn by the volatile conflict between the desire to take revenge and the dread of violence.
The danger of enflamed violence is real and awe- inspiring. For us Israelis, who live through a terrible bleeding conflict, Athena’s warnings are particularly relevant, as if uttered today:
Do not madden our young men
With the hiss of the whetstone
And the dream of the plunging blade.
Do not swell their pride
With the dream of purging themselves
Of all their bodily violence
In the rapture of battle.
Do not addict them
To the drug of danger –
The dream of the enemy
That has to be crushed, like a herb,
Before they can smell freedom.
Do not inflame them
With the foolish temper of the fighting cock
That sets faction against faction
Within the one city of families –
All for nothing –
The numbed and pitiless carnage
Of civil war.
Athena’s ingenious solution at the end of the play, moves and inspires me endlessly – her understandings that ignoring destructive impulses will not make them disappear. The Furies and what they represent cannot be annihilated. On the contrary, if such passions can be channeled to productive deeds, if they are given a place among us, in our city, they can be transformed into a positive force, into fruitful energies that inspire society with vividness and depth. Instead of inciting war and violence, such passions can be directed to creativity, reconciliation and peace.
Ruth Kanner
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