Welcome to the CITY OF WINE…
April 4, 2007City of Wine is Ned Dickens’ seven play cycle exploring the stories of the ancient city of Thebes. This blog has been set up by Nightswimming, the theatre company that is developing the plays in a partnership with theatre schools across Canada.
We invite students and faculty, and everyone working on the project, to post their comments about the process of working on these plays. We encourage students at theatre schools across the country to meet each other through this blog as you simultaneously work on Ned’s plays.
If you would like to more information on City of Wine, click on About City of Wine; if you’d like to learn more about Nightswimming, click on About Nightswimming, or visit our website, or visit our Facebook page – City of Wine.
In a sense, this blog is being developed as a virtual Thebes – a place where the many individuals and groups who are contributing to this project can converse as we work together toward bringing all the plays to production. And to the eventual time and place when we will all be in the same room, performing and watching the story of Thebes unfold onstage. Thanks for your contributions…
Brian Quirt
Nightswimming
Nightswimming is proud to thank our Research and Workshop sponsor for their generous three year commitment towards the City of Wine project:
Accommodation Sponsor:
CITY OF WINE – Master Schedule of Productions
Subject to change
HARMONIA directed by DD Kugler
SFU Contemporary Arts, Burnaby
cgi.sfu.ca/~scahome/?q=theatre
Feb 25 – Mar 7, 2009
PENTHEUS directed by Tatiana Jennings
Humber College, Toronto
www.creativeandperformingarts.humber.ca
April 11 – 18, 2009
LAIUS directed by Eda Holmes
George Brown College, Toronto
www.georgebrown.ca/theatre
Feb 4 – 14, 2009
JOCASTA directed by Craig Hall
Studio 58, Langara College, Vancouver
www.langara.bc.ca/studio58
March 19 – April 5, 2009
OEDIPUS directed by Ursula Neuerburg-Denzer
Concordia University, Montreal
theatre.concordia.ca
April 2 – 5, 2009
CREON directed by Jillian Keiley
Sir Wildfred Grenfell College, Memorial University, Corner Brook
www2.swgc.mun.ca/theatre
November 26 – 29, 2008
SEVEN directed by Sarah Stanley
York University, Toronto
www.yorku.ca/finearts/theatre
April 30 – May 2, 2009
City of Wine Festival
May 5-9 – CITY OF WINE Festival performances
The Festival will feature two complete runs of the cycle at Theatre Passe Muraille
www.artsboxoffice.ca | 416-504-7529
As we have seen through the previous two plays, the unnamed change from generation to generation ye maintain their basic social attributes. In ‘Laius’ we get to see two sets of unnamed due to the split geographical nature of the play. This gives us an opportunity to see a contrast between those Cadmean unnamed we have followed through the previous plays, as well as the Elisian unnamed who are just beginning to be exposed to Cadmean culture and politics. The most important difference is exposure to wine. Cadmean unnamed drink and carouse with the likes of their king to be and have no qualms about encouraging and delighting in his poor behavior. Elisian unnamed are cautious around their prince and unaccustomed to Cadmean wine. This contrast allows us to see just how much the Cadmean/Theban or in fact Thebes itself has gone morally astray.
My Favorite character in ‘Laius’ was Liaus. I think this is due to my expectations of the man being utterly and unexpectedly dashed by the end of the play. On the outset Laius comes off as a drunken child who is happy to merely have a good time and get drunk with his people. The opening scene where he is drinking with his unnamed friends reminded me somewhat of Henry V and his own drinking buddies, Falstaff and the like. With that in mind I had an expectation that like Henry V, Laius would eventually shape up and be a just and kind king. Unfortunately for the people of Elis and probably also the people of Thebes this expectation never came to fruition. In fact Laius’ sense of entitlement and bad behavior was nurtured throughout the play and by the end he was a murderous tyrant. I really like the way that worked out.
Jocasta
The elements of time and space are essential in ‘Jocasta’ to build tension throughout the play. The element of space manifests itself in the use of the three leveled playing areas. When action is happening in two or more areas we can see a contrast between the feelings, worries and attitudes of the unnamed versus the royals. The use of time in conjunction with the spatial elements of the play offer a suspenseful aura that consumes the city of Thebes. The best example of these two elements coming together happens near the end of act one. The short scenes that occur in rapid succession between the royal apartment and the tavern present to the audience the ever intensifying authoritarian rule of Liaus. We see the desperation in both the common folk and the queen with the disintegration of life in Thebes. This cross actioning intensifies the information the audience is being presented and is essential to the misery that is felt at the end of act one.
The use of story telling to bring about a characters specific goals is best exemplified by the Captain. Upon his return the captain tells of how the kings party was waylaid by robber and despite a valiant effort the king was killed. With fresh wounds to back up his story the captain is forgiven for his failure and cared for. Despite the official story being robber the captain eventually has to admit what really happened to the Friend when questioned about the inconsistent nature of his wounds. The captain and his men knowing the disgrace of finding their charge dead on the road concocted the whole story in order to save face upon returning home. The faith they had in the story was so great that some of his men actually died to support its legitimacy. Another example of story telling to achieve a desired goal occurs when Oedipus meets the unnamed. Being a stranger to the town and wanting to ease the discomfort of the townspeople in fraternizing with royalty of any kind Oedipus tells of how his father, the king of Corinth, resolves disputes justly. By displaying how Corinthian royals behave in contrast to the tyrannical Theban king, he succeeds in pleasing the townspeople and being accepted by them. He later tells the same story to the royal court and in much the same way succeeds in appeasing their suspicions.
Oedipus
Throughout the cycle several stories are repeated. The origin of Bacchus is retold several times. In ‘Jocasta’ for example, the friend retells the story to comic effect when it becomes clear that everyone has heard it before. The repetition of stories serves to remind the audience of the events that occurred in earlier plays and to set up events that will resonate within the context of those stories. In Oedipus the repetition of stories actually drives the plot. The main project of all the characters is to determine what happened all those years ago to Laius. Through the retelling of stories that project comes closer and closer to resolution. When the captain publicly tells of what really happened on the day the king was killed it arouses the suspicion of the other characters. By calling into question the official story with the captains account it allows the search for truth to continue. The shepherd also repeats the story of the leg bound prince further damming king Oedipus And queen Jocasta. The repetition that occurs in this play is not merely used to provide a frame of reference to the audience but is central to the plot and it’s resolution.
Although the unnamed are not necessarily the same character from play to play they do share similar characteristics. The most easily identifiable of these recurring characteristics occurs in the character of Bowl, (this may be due to the fact the bowl has been read almost exclusively by the same actor throughout our readings). Bowl is the most boisterous of the unnamed. His love of wine, (or ambrosia), permeates his character. Although he enjoys a stiff drink he also has characteristics of warmth, generosity and hospitality. He never seems above sharing a drink with even the most disagreeable characters, (so long as the wine is plentiful). Of course his love of wine takes a rather morbid turn in Oedipus when it is implied that he has been robbing graves for the wine within.
The character of Blood also has specific characteristics from play to play. Blood knows his place and is cautious not to step out of it. He is always the first to warn the other unnamed off when they have had a bit too much to drink and start speaking before they think. Blood is a survivor. He does not want to rock the boat. He would much rather suffer quietly and do what is expected of him and is frustrated when others put him in a position where he cannot do that.
Hey Guys
Here are my three comments from the play reading on Monday-
Compliment: The characters are all very alive to me, they are fleshed out and have alot of heart.
Strongest images for me were Dirce’s death and the line “the city eats itself”
Question- I already asked Ned this…more back story about the sown men. I really want to read the two plays that preclude Laius.
Sorry for the brevity.
see you all in an hour!
Claire
Not that it makes a big difference but, just so you know, the chaacter frmerly known as PARENT is now to known as BREAD.
Check out the conversation about CITY OF WINE on the Globe & Mail critic’s blog:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090105.WBTheatre20090105184323/WBStory/WBTheatre/