18th-19th February 2015, 7:30PM, Exeter College Chapel
Director: Lucy Rayfield
Producer: Frey Kwa Hawking
Musical Director: Benjamin van Leeuwen
"To the mountains Bacchus leads us,
Leads the hunt for meat that's raw
Tearing goats apart he feeds us
Tasting blood we ask for more..."
In the Underworld, a man pleads for the return of his wife to the living. In Thebes, a king is ruined by the retribution of a slighted god. The Maenads grin, the bloody link between the two. And we watch.
A musical double-bill of Euripides' 'The Bacchae' and Poliziano's 'Orpheus', paired for the first time in new translation by David Maskell (Oriel) and directed by Lucy Rayfield (Balliol), following a triumphant performance of 'Orpheus' in 2014. Performed in the beautiful setting of Exeter College Chapel, this production is not for the tender-hearted.
'Sparagmos' is the act of tearing, rending, dismemberment - and bringing matter(s) to a suitably Dionysian end.
For more information, please contact Lucy Rayfield: lucy.rayfield@balliol.ox.ac.uk.