In Women's Hands

I saw "Lysistrata" on Friday night at Bard of the Beach and it was terrific.  It was first performed in 411 BC and was written by Aristophanes, who is the only comedic playwright whose work survives from that time period.  It was written as a reaction to the ongoing wars between Athens and Sparta, and tells the story of a group of women (from all the city states in Greece) who decide to "withhold their favours" from their husbands (if you know what I mean) in order to convince the men to stop the endless war.  It is VERY funny and VERY rude.

I have seen it a number of times (once at the beautiful theatre in Epidaurus in Greece -- what an experience that was) and I was in a staged reading of it years ago when these readings were held as a protest against the Iraq War.

This was a lovely version (with the same cast as "Timon of Athens") -- it was full of energy and hilarity -- and I always sit in the audience and wonder what Aristophanes himself would think about his play being performed so far away and so long after he wrote it.  We don't know much about him although there is some thought that his first play ("The Banqueteers") was produced when he was only 18.  His plays make fun of well known people of his day (Socrates, Euripedes) and contain toilet humour and political satire and, like all great comedians, also make you think about serious issues and can be poignant and moving (but only in brief doses, because most of it is absolutely belly-laugh inducing).

The premise of this production is that there are plans to develop Vanier Park into a container terminal (Vanier Park is where Bard on the Beach is performed) and the cast of what is supposed to be a female Hamlet decides to perform Lysistrata at the last minute, because it is about a woman who "takes arms against a sea of troubles" (Lysistrata) rather than a man who can't make up his mind (Hamlet).  For that reason, everything is supposed to be very last minute, so people are still running around and painting the stage when the curtain goes up.  The costumes were really creative, with pop can tops as armour and broom brushes as the soldiers' helmets (it gave me all sorts of great ideas for theatre production).  As I said, this was the same cast who performed "Timon of Athens" which I didn't love, but this really seemed to be something they relished -- especially good, in my opinion, were Ming Hudson, Michelle Ford and most terrific of all, Quelemia Sparrow.  But it was all great and I loved every minute of it.

"Bard on the Beach" is almost over for the year, but if you want to see some theatre that isn't too expensive, it is Fringe Festival time.  The Fringe Festival is a theatre festival where anything can happen.  The acting companies pay for the venue and are chosen on a "first come, first served" basis, so you get some great stuff and some "passion projects" (people who want to present their play and perhaps have never done so before -- maybe like an 18 year old Aristophanes!).  You can get a guide online or at coffee shops all over the place and you can buy tickets at the door and they are very cheap and you get to see a show and it might be great or it might be shocking or it might be just awful, but it's all great fun and very instructive.  It takes place on Granville Island over the next two weeks.