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controlled emotion of the Persian queen, left behind when her
son went to war and, despite her youth and completely
different life experience, she was credible in the role.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment of The Persians is the
appearance of the ghost of King Darius. Tom Fawcett played
this role superbly, delivering an intensely dramatic speech that
made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The
audience held its collective breath as he held us captivated,
berating his son Xerxes (Alex Collingwood) for his hubris in
attacking Greece. Alex Collingwood was excellent as the
young king, struggling to justify his actions in the face of
defeat. Together the three (Ayoni, Tom and Alex) effectively
portrayed the dynamics of the royal family, grappling with
both a private grief and a public sense of loss.
Sixth, set the tone for the evening, one of intensity and gravity,
and highlighted the central themes of the Greek tragedy to
follow, such as the woman left behind, the loss of young life,
how the actions and decisions of those in charge impact on
individuals, and, most prominently, the endless animosity
between east and west.
The Persians is the only surviving Greek tragedy to have a plot
based on history rather than mythology. Not only was its
subject historical, it was taken from fairly recent history,
describing the aftermath of a war that many members of the
contemporary audience would have remembered. What
makes it more interesting is that it focuses wholly on the
‘enemy’ of the audience, the losers of the war, just as
Maddie’s short play did. What came across strongly in both
plays was the sense that the enemy was both unquestionably
foreign and at the same time unquestionably human.
From the outset, the staging transformed Hallam Hall into a
Persian palace. The set, created again by Dave Matthews,
beautifully and authentically recreated Assyrian architecture,
immediately transferring the audience to ancient Persia. The
costumes had been designed and made by Mrs Vernon and
her Lower Sixth Textiles set (Stephanie Hargreave, Amy
Hickson, Pippa Simons and Kelsey Nolan). They were both
authentic and breath-taking. Beautiful and alien at the same
time, they captured the feel of the foreign, alien and ancient
world. The masks of the chorus, researched and made, again,
by Lower Sixth students (Stephanie Hargreave and Holly
Travis), were amazing. Cut in profile to echo images from
ancient Persian art, they had the appearance of actual stone
and cleverly enabled the chorus to be presented as a unified
group in an effective and powerful way. The way they masked
who was speaking created an eerie effect which had the
added benefit of allowing the audience to focus on the words
of the chorus. The costumes and set design certainly
enhanced what was an exciting and intense performance.
The language of The Persians with its complex, foreign names
would be easy to stumble over, but the actors, especially the
chorus (Toby Jones, Walid Hassoon, Ben Hayes, Will
Robinson, James Earley, Luke Cawthorn), many of whom were
in their first dramatic roles, and the messenger (Sam Allport),
performed professionally, delivering outstanding
performances, as they spoke of their fallen friends. These
characters provided an emotional balance to the controlled
response of the queen. However, the costumes, masks and
language ensured that the characters retained their
foreignness and thus distance from the audience, just as they
would have for an ancient audience.
As always, the special attribute of Mr Thorley’s direction was its
ability to highlight the relevance of the ancient play for a
modern audience. In this production, the programme and the
short dramas preceding each performance of the play helped to
highlight this, but within the play itself, the audience was given
quotes and examples from history which forced us to focus on
this continued animosity. We were forced question this ‘us’ and
‘them’ view, to question whether ‘us’ = ‘civilised’ and ‘them’ =
‘barbaric’, to wonder why the same war has been fought so
many times throughout history: will we ever learn?
The Persians was an impressive, insightful, and intense
performance of Greek tragedy. The remoteness of the setting
was awesome but the inspired staging made its message both
accessible and powerful. It was a triumph in every aspect and
a credit to all involved.
Gemma Ball (Ex SGS Staff)
From her arrival on stage, Ayoni Medagoga, carried herself as
a royal and exotic queen. Wearing an exquisite and luxurious
gown she took to her throne with a regal air which she
maintained throughout the play. Her performance showed the
74 Music, Drama and Art