Love Me Tender

Overview

Adaptations of ancient Greek plays are scarce in the landscape of contemporary Australian theatre. While Shakespeare productions continue to flourish, the earlier classics attract less excitement. That said, Love Me Tender is no straightforward re-staging. Playwright Tom Holloway, while inspired by Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis, has twisted contemporary images and ideology into a dreamlike chaos.

Holloway's creation is unusual in its rich wealth of symbolism and abstraction and in the fluidity of its characters and representation. The two godlike characters operate to provide context, then confuse it, drive the action forward, then halt it. These two could be seen in realist terms as writers, translators or interpreters, or in historical terms as reminiscent of a Greek chorus. While espousing particular approaches in their discussions, they in fact emphasise the confused and oppositional beliefs at play in the situation at hand.

This production draws heavily on the relationship between Holloway and director Matthew Lutton, who previously collaborated on Don't Say The Words. Lutton's work is striking, particularly in his direction of actors' movement. Belinda McClory, as the mother, exerts perfect control to steer between the admirable, violent and pitiful. The design aspects of the production are similarly significant. Water is used in different ways but primarily as a fine mist to create a fog-like effect while gradually soaking the actors. Without giving too much away, the introduction of a live animal to the stage similarly raises the stakes. While the overall tension does unfortunately tend to peter out before what should be the climax, this is an exceptionally brave and generous production.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5fgVdPusorU