Lyrah, not like is said on the flyer!
Aristophanes’ Ancient Greek play Lysistrata has been adapted and performed countless times mainly for its sexual hilarity and its interpretable feminist and anti-feminist message. The tale is of women refusing their husbands and partners sex until they cease fighting in the Peloponnesian War between the Athenians and the Spartans. The women seize control of the Acropolis (a building where festivals were held and that was sacred to the Goddess Athena) and after several spats and disputes the men agree to make peace.
Alex Moore directed and starred in Lyrah an adaptation that put the tale in a contemporary setting with women dressed in Primark lingerie and a bottle of cheap vodka replaced the original bowl of wine; the warring groups were gangs with coloured head bands distinguishing their allegiance. This style has been done many a time; in 2003 Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick played Myrrhine and Cineseas, he with a large balloon phallus and she with a gum popping, street sassy attitude. They performed as part of The Lysistrata Project, a global display of peace after the tragedy of 9/11 and an act of female empowerment and action.
This student lead production in Winchester University’s performance room 2 had the potential to be highly funny yet empowering and political, qualities that make Lysistrata such a beloved text, but it fell short. The script had a lot of unnecessary “fuck you”s, “suck my dick bitch”s and other language that not only cheapened the piece, but made the confrontation of the men and women seem abusive, macho and not in the least bit witty or empowering. At one point the two gangs had a ‘rap-battle’ where they mumbled lines to each other above a backing track, a glimmer of hope, perhaps Aristophanes’ slick tongue would shine through – but no luck. The raps could not be understood and they appeared improvised, a shame. The whole piece was not polished but then that is not expected from a student work and for the length of time they had they did fit in multiple sketches.
One actor really held the performance together; James Horcroft, dressed in a black bob wig with two tennis ball boobs protruding from a white tank top played a randy Greek woman with the utmost enthusiasm, and his energy is something the whole cast could have done with an ounce of. The play left me awkward and confused rather than aching from laughter as the advertisements promised but the performance did have the potential to be something great, a quality that should be credited.
Images used with the permission of Alex Moore
