Review of Metamorphoses

"Simplistically clever and slick storytelling" by Audrey Tang for remotegoat on 15/09/11

Ovid's Metamorphoses is a series of tales developed from Greek Mythology, including the story of Echo and Narcissus and the transgendered Tiresias. Hecate Theatre has chosen to set the scene for these tales of love, humiliation, passion and power in a Victorian Boarding House, through the voices of four excitable girls and their Matron.

Walking into a dimply lit room above the Lansdown Pub, with the odd creak in the floorboards and the day turning to twilight, the setting is certainly atmospheric. However, the opening with the beautifully voiced "Invocation" into the faux childishness just seemed a little jarring. Similarly, too, in it's overall approach (in part reminiscent of the Reduced Shakespeare's "Complete Works in 89 minutes"), I would have liked to have seen a little more connection between the characters of the storytellers and the roles they were portraying - there were moments of this towards the end of the piece, but this could perhaps have been better established from the start?

Once into the story-telling, though, this is certainly not to take away from the energy and versatility of the performers, who, using only their voices, bodies and minimal props really drew you into their world of Ancient Greece. Within this, I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of modern day language and characterisation intertwined within some of the stories which had been subtly crafted and added to the comedic moments.

The five performers worked slickly as an ensemble, and I would mention in particular Glenys Leigh McIntyre, whose physicality is excellent, and Nicola Foxfields' beautifully haunting voice, and superb comic timing. There were also extremely creative directorial ideas including clever use of shadow and choral speaking which, in their execution, were testimony to the actors and their director.

Hecate's Metamorphoses in its adaptation, intepretation and performance shows that Bristol really is the place for nurturing genuine talent in the arts!

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