PicksInSix Review: AN ILIAD Court Theatre at Oriental Institute
“Where do the old gods go?”
There is a lonesome wail bellowing from within the Oriental Institute’s dark and cavernous Mesopotamia Gallery. Surrounded on two sides by the carved wall reliefs from an Assyrian palace and casting shadows across the imposing winged bull in the Khorsabad Court, you first hear Timothy Edward Kane as The Poet, singing a haunting song of war. As “An Iliad” written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare from a translation by Robert Fagles begins, the storyteller finds himself very much in the present, compelled by the gods to repeat the story of the Trojan War—that raged nine years with “nothing to show for it but exhaustion, poverty, and loneliness”—and recount the heroic exploits of its two great fighters—Achilles and Hector.
Two single standing lights create an eerie atmosphere for the fifty spectators who watch from the shadows. Dressed in scavenger clothes, Kane’s Poet has witnessed all wars from the beginning of time. And here, set among the artifacts of past civilizations, his breathtaking performance unfolds over the course of 90 spellbinding minutes. It’s ghostly, thrilling, passionate and staggeringly gripping drama.
“An Iliad” is familiar ground for the actor. Kane’s critically acclaimed performance at Court Theatre in 2011, directed then, as now, by Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell, was remounted in 2013. With the artistic decision to produce the Oedipus Trilogy in part to celebrate the milestone of Newell’s 25th anniversary season, the mission became to envision the production of “An Iliad” anew, building upon its own past perfection. Newell’s superb creative team—Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design),Keith Parham (Lighting Design), Rachel Anne Healy (Costume Design) and Andre Pluess (Sound Design)—have elegantly reimagined the play for a unique setting.
The result is an inspired collaboration with the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago that Newell acknowledged to the audience following the Friday night performance, is blessed by the extraordinary opportunity to merge the powerful story with the Institute’s historic aesthetic. From playing to Muses in the shadows and utilizing the winged bull in a modern-day geography lesson, Kane’s masterful understanding of the material, when retold in and among the grandeur of the world-class collection, elevates the contemporary treatment to unimaginable levels. Kane has more than matured in the role; he has become one with it.
Rendered in seven parts, the rich, molten center of the material explodes from within the Persian Gallery with Kane’s blistering interpretations of Achilles, Hector and Patroclus in the shadow of the 10-ton bull head that once guarded the entrance of the Throne Hall of kings Xerxes and Artaxerxes I at Persepolis. It is here that Kane recites the ominous list of wars that stands as a testament to the futility of it all even as he is compelled to never forget.
While there will always be the opportunity to experience the extraordinary collection of the Institute, “An Iliad” runs through April 5th with very limited availability. A papyrus fragment of Book II Homer’s “Iliad” from the collection has been placed on public display—a stunning 3,000 year old artifact that provides context to this magnificent production for the fortunate few who have already made plans to attend.
PHOTOS|Liz Lauren
COURT THEATRE
ORIENTAL INSTITUTE
present
AN ILIAD
through April 5, 2020
Oriental Institute
1155 E. 58th St.
View map
info@courttheatre.org
Box Office: (773) 753-4472
WEBSITE
TICKETS
For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago