Being abandoned by your compatriots

Alexandru Ionașcu

Intro

Most of us believe, probably under the influence of so-called patriotic speeches, that war is a kind of social glue, meaning that it also means camaraderie between men. A phallocentric camaraderie, sure, but still camaraderie, men from different social backgrounds who don’t have much in common, but are forced by a ruthless enemy to suffer alongside each other. At least that’s what patriotic rhetoric says. Men fight and suffer together in war. But what if your own brothers in arms abandon you in a deserted place, say an island? Something unfair, an intolerable and unexpected cruelty, you might say. But what if those same comrades-in-arms have even more insidious intentions towards you, namely to kill you and use your corpse as propaganda? Well, at the TNT (Theater Networking Talents) festival organized by the Marin Sorescu National Theater in Craiova, the play Philoctetes addresses these questions.

Deconstructed introduction 

The play begins with an amusing introduction to the action, a small deconstruction of warrior machismo with the actors briefly frozen in positions meant to show us what happened to the defeated in Antiquity. In the first short vignette, Philoctetes points his bow with a prepared and slightly tensioned arrow at Neoptolemus, who was sent by the Greeks to retrieve him. For the second vignette, two of the three actors in the show invite three spectators onto the stage, and they raise their shoes above Philoctetes lying on the stage, as if they were stepping on him. No one said that the ancient world was easy for men. 

Energetic performances and the language barrier

Funny introduction, but what does the stage look like? The show takes place on a small stage, with sand and two fake rocks, representing the island of Lemnos where Philoctetes is exiled. The actors’ performance on the small stage, like a deserted island, is very energetic. Rafael Bizhev, who plays Neoptolemus, and Dimitar Vasilev, who plays Ulysses (Odysseus), run around, shout, and Philoctetes yells at Neoptolemus and threatens him with his bow and arrow. He has only one arrow ready on that bow, but one arrow is enough to convey his hatred for the Greeks who set out against Troy. Alexander Pritup, the actor who plays Philoctetes, is the driving force behind the show, constantly questioning the two Greeks who have come to take him back, controlling his reactions, and his body is much more tense than the bow with an arrow that he never lets go of. The actors’ dialogue is in Bulgarian, and two screens translate everything into English.

Isolation, a vulture, and the chorus of music

Neoptolemus feigns innocence and friendship with his shipwrecked compatriot, but is forced to react to Philoctetes’ movements and questions, both of which describe a contented isolation. The kind of isolation synonymous with the peace you feel when you no longer have to follow the rules and obligations of your fellow citizens’ society. One could say that time stands still for Philoctetes, the Trojan War may or may not be over, and even if it never ends, it no longer matters to the protagonist. But for the audience, the moments when the actors announced that they would break the fourth wall and address the audience directly were amusing. And they did so directly through a song that ironically described Philoctetes’ situation and what his body looked like due to isolation. Wounded in the leg, Philoctetes has one more reason to hate those who threw him into a useless war. Neoptolemus, on the other hand, finds himself on Philoctetes’ island, pursued by a vulture represented by actor Dimitar Vasilev, equipped with black wings and a mask that an English literature enthusiast like myself might say resembles the masks worn by doctors during the plague epidemic in the Middle Ages. Of course, we are not in the Middle Ages here, but in ancient Greece reduced to sand and two large fake stones as scenery. The musical moment in the show, set to music by artist Elena Deceva, is reminiscent of the chorus in ancient tragedies, revealing another role of Dimitar Vasilev—that of master of ceremonies who knows more than the other two characters. The audience cannot guess how everything will unfold. Certainly, none of the spectators in the hall could have guessed that Philoctetes would be killed by Ulysses/Odysseus and used for propaganda. Abandoned by his compatriots, recovered by the same compatriots only to be killed, the Trojan War certainly did not go very well for Philoctetes.

A confusing war and an optimistic conclusion

For a tragedy from Sophocles’ repertoire, adapted by Heinz Müller, Rafael Bizhev’s re-adaptation shows us how confusing war can be and how difficult it is to trust even those brothers in arms with whom you suffer. Neoptolemus and Ulysses do not suffer much, they are relaxed without showing it, and we, the people of the 19th century, wonder how much things have changed in the last two and a half millennia. Philoctetes is a coherent show, with complete performances and actors who shift from tension to irony, a show that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The acting, costumes, choreography, and music as a chorus all remain etched in your memory. Perhaps we cannot know if all people lie, as the song Lacrimosa says, but Rafael Bijev and his team offer us an optimistic and pacifist image and reasons to listen carefully, but also with a little suspicion, to what others tell us. Everything in Bulgarian. Philoctetes also offers us music, did I mention that?

Philoctetes by Heinz Müller, translated by Ivan Stanev

Cast:

Filoktet – Alexander Pritup

Neoptolemus – Rafael Bizhev

Odysseus – Dimitar Vassilev

Director: Rafael Bizhev

Music: Elena Decheva

Boundless revenge

Photo:‌ Cover of the show (source: Craiova National Theater, Facebook)

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