Prometheus Bound: Chained Heat

It will probably still be some time before an American audience can watch a nearly nude black man desperately trying to escape from chains without associating it with an uncomfortable part of our unavoidable heritage.  But the production of Aeschylus' ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound now being offered at the Classic Stage Company, by way of the Aquila Theatre Company, originated in London and as entering patrons see the crucifix shaped links that rest on the stage floor and stretch skyward it's apparent that director/translator James Kerr had a different sufferer in mind.

British actor David Oyelowo, son of a Nigerian prince and the first black actor to be cast as an English king for a Royal Shakespeare Company production (Henry VI), is onstage for the play's entire 90 minutes in the title role; the mythical titan who angers Zeus by giving the gift of fire to humans.  After godly cronies Power (Michael Dixon) and Violence (Julie McNiven) are assisted by the reluctant Hephaestus (George Bartenieff), the god of blacksmiths, artisans and such, in chaining Prometheus with his arms outstretched and a gaping wound in his chest, the rebellious one has his solitude interrupted by visits from Oceanus (Bartenieff) and his watery chorus of daughters (Therese Barbato, Autumn Dornfield, Erin Krakow, Susannah Millonzi and Sipiwe Moyo) and by Io (McNiven), the lass who has been changed into a cow by Zeus in order to save her from his wife Hera's jealousy.

Prometheus, whose name means "foreknowledge", clairvoyantly knows who will eventually overthrow Zeus and when messenger god Hermes (Dixon, dressed by set/costume designer Paul Wills like a bellhop delivering a telegram) arrives to demand he reveal his secret it's a cue for the story's final conflict.

In a role that demands a dominating presence, Oyelowo gives one of those performances that inspires people to say things like he alone was worth the price of admission.  Gritty, muscular and majestic, he is attention-grabbing from the start in a lengthy, wordless soliloquy where Prometheus makes several attempts to free himself; systematically trying to power and finesse his way to freedom only to be left sweaty and frustrated.  Kerr's text, written with the actor in mind, takes advantage of Oyelowo's stirring voice as he rails against the tyranny that suppresses the spread of knowledge.

Unfortunately, Oyelowo is surrounded by a company that is competent at best and the evening is plagued with cases of stilted line readings, inaudibility and surface acting.  This is compounded by Kerr's static staging that depends on the company's ability to engage the audience with their command of many lengthy speeches.  There is little of interest going on that isn't directly provided by Oyelowo's performance, making the evening a star vehicle with no road to travel.  Still, there's something fascinating to watch for every second of it.

Photos of David Oyelowo by Richard Termine