Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Sunday 4th March 2018.
Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, names 215 dead soldiers, and this production is an equally massive enterprise, with a chorus of 215 people from the community to represent those soldiers. British poet, Alice Oswald's, poem,
Memorial, is an elegy to each of those men.
The production has been directed by Chris Drummond, Artistic Director of Brink Productions, and choreographed by Yaron Lifschitz, Artistic Director of Circa, who jointly developed the concept, with original music by composer,
Jocelyn Pook, conducted by Musical Director, Jonathan Peter Kenny, who leads a small group of highly talented and well-respected musicians, and adds his own countertenor to the vocals.
Aside from conventional instruments in the orchestra, Belinda Sykes is a Bulgarian singer, who plays shawm and gralla, as well as oboe and recorders, and Tanja Tzarovska is a Macedonian singer, together bringing an exoticism to the work.
One of Australia's most prolific and much-loved performers, Helen Morse, is the narrator, the storyteller, recounting the names and describing the deaths of the many, whilst walking amongst their ghosts. Renate Henschke has dressed the entire chorus in muted monochromatic tones and the musicians in black, with the only colour being Morse's full-length dress, a red the shade of dried blood. Michael Hankin's design is elegant in its simplicity, a black wall at the rear, with a slot half way up in which the musicians and soloist singers are just visible in the dim lighting, with the stage an area of rough ground and stunted grass patches, the killing fields.
Nigel Levings paints this with his subtle lighting, creating an otherworldly effect. The visual impact of this production, alone, is like a visit to a vast art gallery, with one powerful image after another appearing and vanishing. Any painter, photographer, or cinematographer would have a field day capturing this work for posterity, and one hopes that it is, indeed, going to be recorded.
The chorus, too, features many professional singers, with Christie Anderson and
Carol Young as choirmasters and members of Aurora, The Festival Statesmen, State Opera of South Australia Chorus, Tutti, Choral Grief, La La Land, and many more individuals, male, female, and children. Not only is the singing superbly realised, but there is a wealth of movement, and many brief tableaux throughout.
A trio of dancers, Lina Limosani, Larissa McGowan, and Tobiah Booth-Remmers, add yet another layer to this already densely rich performance.
Helen Morse has the task of reciting Oswald's award-winning poem, a huge task, and she is magnificent. Every word is as clear as a bell, every one of the dead is given due reverence, and her serenity and posture combine so that we are always focussed on her narrative, yet aware of everything else that is happening. She has the ability to own the space and yet shares it fully with the chorus and dancers.
The whole production is absolutely sensational and should be on everybody's list this Festival.
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