Last night at the premiere for Digital Theatre and Cinema Live’s film release of The Crucible, when Ben Hewis of What’s on Stage (thanks to Armitage Agonistes for the link) asked Richard Armitage, about working with Yaël Farber, part of his response was:
Richard Armitage and Yael Farber
Source
“…I really hope we can do something else together.
We’re putting our heads together and having a really
good think about what we can do next.”
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy this could be good…really good…CLASSICALLY good even!
Here’s how my twisted little brain spins this all out: A cursory look at the “Productions” page on Yaël Farber’s website revealed this:
Right smack in the middle are two Yaël Farber adaptations of classical plays. In Molora, Farber retools Aeschylus’ Oresteia – the tale of The House of Atreus…you know, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Elektra? Powerful stuff.
Both of Yaël Farber’s classical adaptations have met with critical acclaim and Molora was particularly well received in a world wide productions…Farber’s blend of classical themes with contemporary issues and unique staging consistently packs a punch.
It’s Kadmos, though, that has me really intrigued. I became aware of this Yaël Farber adaptation…this time of Sophocles’ Theban Plays, this summer when I was doing a little research on Yaël Farber, Sophocles, Arthur Miller and The Crucible…there are some interesting connections for sure, but I think I’ll save that bit until I’m able to see The Crucible when it eventually turns up in my neck of the woods.
In the Theban Plays, Farber’s adaptation is titled after the first king of Thebes…Kadmos, Sophocles traces the story of the Oedipus and his family in three plays:
Οἰδίπους Τύραννος – Oedipus the King
Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ – Oedipus at Colonos
Ἀντιγόνη – Antigone
When I first looked at Yaël Farber’s CV over the summer I also noticed this enticing little nugget:
Shut the front door! Is this in development for the Athens & Epidauros Festival? I wondered. I clicked over to their website and found no trace of it. However…could it be that its production was postponed for some reason…fate perhaps???
It seems like there is another connection that I’m missing here…Oh right – there’s that Richard Armitage tweet from last summer…
OMG, OMG, OMG!!! That would be a splendissimus collaboRAtion (sorry…I got excited and mixed languages!!) While we’re at it, let’s just up the ante and say it will be produced in Athens, Summer 2016. If that happens,
Puppies and nerds wrigglin’
Someone fetch me in time to buy tickets, ’cause I’ll be down here celebrating with the puppies!!
Ancient Armitage 