The Bacchae Cast

In The Bacchae of Euripedes:  A Communion Rite by Wole Soyinka, the god of wine and theater Dionysus and the famous Theban seer Tiresias are two of the play’s intriguing character. In the beginning of the play, Tiresias is the first character to closely interact with Dionysus. The initial interaction between Dionysus and Tiresias is interesting, which is the reason why I chose the characters to focus. If I were the director of the play The Bacchae, I would cast British actor Sam Hazeldine as Dionysus and British actor John Hurt as Tiresias.

In the beginning of the play, the god Dionysus is situated within his mother tomb and looks down upon the smoke from his feet. He is portrayed as angry and disappointed in the people of Thebes for not worshipping him as a god. Also, the people of Thebes have disrespected Dionysus’ mother, Semele, by calling her slut. In the play, Dionysus is described as beautiful, mischievous, and playful. British actor Sam Hazeldine would make a perfect Dionysus. I imagine Dionysus as blond and muscular, yet has a slim look. Sam Hazeldine is also blond and quite muscular for the role. I can see Hazeldine wearing a tunic and a wreath around his long blond curls. These features create a godlike character. Furthermore, he is handsome as Dionysus is described as beautiful. Recently, I have seen the movie The Raven, which Hazeldine is revealed as the mad and playful editor/murderer of the movie. However, Hazeldine’s character Ivan is first portrayed as innocent, but transform into an evil and mischievous newspaper editor. From this observation, Hazeldine embodies frivolity and mischievousness just like Dionysus when he plays tricks on Pentheus. As for setting the stage, I would have Hazeldine standing on top of his mother’s tomb looking out to the city of Thebes in disappointment. Hazeldine would stand tall and his fists would curl in anger because of the ignorance and rudeness of the Thebans.

As for Tiresias, he is described as a wise old man and seer. When Tiresias is being taunted by the floggers in the beginning of the play, I imagine Tiresias as a dirty and disheveled man that has been totured by the floggers. He is also thin and weak and does not have much power over people. I believe that British actor John Hurt would be an excellent choice to portray wise old Tiresias. From watching John Hurt acting as the estranged and demented, yet intelligent Professor Oxley in the Hollywood movie Indian Joes and the Kingdom of Skull, Hurt can easily act the character of Tiresias. I see Tiresias as a frail and thin, old man. Professor Oxley is also very thin and speaks intelligently of his knowledge.  When Dionysus meets Tiresias, Dionysus demands Tiresias to dance, which he does. This reminds me of Professor Oxley aimlessly wandering around in the forest in the Amazon from the enemies. In a way, he seemed likey he was dancing because he was swirving in circles with the skull in his hands. As for stage setting, I would have the lights dim and a little bit of fog surrounding Tiresias and Dionysus. This makes it look like they are alone and away from everybody. It also makes the scene personal and intimate between the characters. I would have Hurt dressed up in a brown and dusty tunic due to the incident with the floggers. The character of Tiersias really reminds me of Hurt. After the meeting of Dionysus, Tiersias meets Cadmus. From there, I would have Dionysus disappear in the fog, but his voice still echoes to Tiersias to dance. As Cadmus enters the scene, the fog disperses. 

Weird, Strange, Bizarre, Awkward...

In Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Intensive Care Unit by J.G Ballard, both authors situate their characters in a weird world where unusual things have taken place. In Kafka’s story, his main character is transformed into a beetle, who is soon neglected and isolated by his own family. In Ballard’s drama, the main character is a doctor who lives in a world where human contact is only possible through the media, such as camera and televisions. Kafka and Ballard use the idea of isolation and existentialism in their absurd drama in relation to the disconnection of the mind and body.

In Kafka’s story, the main character, Gregor is transformed into a beetle, yet he still thinks like a human. He begins to behave like an insect by climbing walls and such, but his mind is not in sync with his body. Gregor still wants the interactions with his family and connection with humanity. For example, Gregor likes the idea of moving his furniture out of his room to have more space to roam, but at the same time he does not want his mother and sister to take them out because the furniture has a lot of sentimental meanings to him, such as his desk reminding him of his school years. The furniture represents his memories as a human, which he dearly admires, but they seem to conflict with his body as an insect. In Ballard’s drama, the doctor falls in love and marries his patient, Margaret through television. The doctor’s relationship with his wife and children is also through television only. From this type of interaction, the doctor’s mind is only contacted with Margaret, not his body. This interaction through television prevents the doctor to have physical contact with Margaret. The doctor’s mind is able to communicate his thoughts and feelings to Margaret, but his body is far from her. This problem leads to the doctor feeling ambivalent about Margaret when he sees her in person. Although he thought of Margaret as beautiful and unique, his physical interactions with her in person does not match his thoughts about her on television.  He “failed to realize that this was the wife” in front of him outside of the house. Both the main characters’ minds are separated from their body. Gregor is torn between his emotions as a human and appearance as a bug. The doctor’s mind or televised perception of his wife does not reflect his physical relationship with his wife.

Furthermore, both protagonists are isolated from their own family. Gregor is forced to stay in his room, but watches them from a distance when his door is open. The doctor is by himself and is only able to see his family through television. They are both alienated from the world and physically disconnected from their family. When Gregor tries to interact with his family, the family is repulsed by his features and chases him back to his room. The doctor also faces this kind of rejection and repulsion by his own wife when he first physically meets Margaret. Margaret “turned and fled” from the sight of her husband of ten years. Eventually, both characters die because of their relationships with their family.  Gregor dies alone in his room of starvation and loneliness. The doctor is inflicted with pain by his own son and slowly dies on the floor. Gregor’s disconnection between the mind and body prevents him to communicate to his family. His isolation is caused by the conflict between his mental state and physical appearance. Their isolation deepens their separation of the mind and body that increases their uneasiness around their family.

In both stories, the characters are unusually calm to the irrational events that have taken place. They live in a different and new world. For example, the Samsa family does not question the metamorphosis of Gregor, nor do they seek any reasons or cure for Gregor. In The Intensive Care Unit, the characters are also at ease with the fact that communication and human interaction are only through television. They find no problem with this type of contact. This absurdity in Kafka’s and Ballard’s stories suggests that there is no rational structure in their society.  They live in an irrational and existentialist world where they do not try to make sense of events or explain the cause of situations. The idea of existentialism enhances their disconnection of the mind and body. They do not connect their minds to their bodies to make rational choices. They just live life as it is. The doctor and his family see each other with kindness and love through television, but when they all meet together in person they attack each other. Their televised mind and feelings do not sync with the way they are behaving in the living room.  In the end, the family becomes hostile and kills each other. As for Metamorphosis, Gregor cannot harmonize his mind and body, which troubles him to figure out his desires and to interact with his family. His family does not help him, but tries to pretend that nothing has happened. They have become so worried about their financial problems that they forget their physical relationship with Gregor.  The disconnection of the mind and body of the characters in both of the bizarre stories in an alien universe creates absurdity and isolation.