This is a radical reworking of the Biblical story of Salome as directed by Yaël Farber which features some very strong performances and some fantastic visual theatrical effects.
Farber’s aim is to retell the story of Salome but NOT the story of Salomé as a femme fatale imagined by the historian Flavius Josephus and later interpreters like as Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley and Richard Strauss. Salome becomes a revolutionary, downtrodden woman who is a voice for the oppressed, the silent, the persecuted, the refugee.
So Farber divides the character in two. One, simply called Nameless, (a wonderful strong performance by Olwen Fouere) is an older, ghostly one might say, embodiment of voiceless women down the ages who mostly acts as narrator, ragged and barefoot.
The younger Salomé (Isabella Nefar) lives in Roman-occupied Judea, is the trapped victim of her voracious stepfather, Herod, and becomes the instrument of major change. If she demands the death of the prophet Iokanaan (John the Baptist), it is so that his martyrdom will stir revolt against the oppressive Roman occupation.
Salome is attacked by crowds , tortured in prison and, JUST baptised, required to dance for the Roman leaders of the occupation
We see how Salome is infatuated with the mysterious outlawed fanatical prophet Iokanaan who invites her to bathe, naked, in water, a respite from the harsh sand that pours down at other points in the play as played by wild eyed, bearded Arabic speaking Ramzi Choukair, who mostly wears only a loincloth.
Herodias in this version is not mentioned. Herod (Paul Chahidi) is creepy and oily, repellent and oozing lascivious power as he invades Salome’s body. Pilate (Lloyd Hutchinson) is bullying and interrogates Salome at the end of her life attempting to understand her actions.
The language and text is at times reminiscent of Wilde’s play and The Song of Solomon, but sometimes also is a little awkward.
The lighting and staging are at times spectacular and thrilling with wonderful symbolic use of sand and water.
There is much dizzying use of the revolve. Frozen choreographed tableaux reminiscent of Renaissance paintings of the Last Supper, bodies hidden under layers of sheets, ladders ascending to the heavens billowing diaphanous sheets, mist, flailing arms are included.
Two women Yasmin Levy and Lubana Al Quntar provide an undulating,wailing soundtrack for most of the production (created by Adam Cork).
Overall the sparse rather minimalist staging is extremely impressive. The costumes are wonderfully layered and textured, wonderful scaly armour for the occupying Romans. Yet why do the guards have contemporary guns?
In this intense, ritualistic version , the image of Salome’s sexualised, broken body becomes a powerful metaphor for not only the dominance of the Romans over the kingdom of Judea at the time, but also amounts to a every land that suffers enforced colonisation
Running time allow 2 hours – there is a short behind the scenes documentary on the making of the production. The actual production runs roughly 90 minutes without interval.