Review: "Orestes" World Premiere at Tarragon Theatre

I would have paid far more attention during high school and my undergraduate years if the stories of Greek mythology were presented in such an engrossing digitally interactive online opening night world premiere production of Tarragon Theatre’s Orestes written by Rick Roberts which, he says, “has brought a new depth to this story through a complete overhaul. In making these changes, we’ve expanded the bounds of what this play could be.”

This solid cast of ten actors under Richard Rose’s intelligent and visionary direction has had an extensive list of credits from theatre to film and television according to their programme bios; however, the challenges for all of them to perform in front of their computer camera in this re-imagined, live online production worked extremely well for me. I especially liked the fact that we were able to click on a character and follow their personal story in the backrooms and bedrooms in their relationships with each other, even though there were a few tech slips of performer and voice synchronicity or when I clicked on a character, was temporarily knocked out, and had to re-sign in again.

From Tarragon’s press release: “Protagonist Orestes (a sometimes bold, sometimes despondent, and sometimes cocky performance by Cliff Cardinal as he descends into madness) has been de-platformed. His crime of matricide has been stuck on autoplay and his banishment has driven the poet laureate of the internet offline. Orestes becomes disconnected and stranded in the silence of the real world, and we begin to wonder if he can survive in this real world where the media turns against him?  And in an internet world where we are defined by the number of so-called friends and followers on social media, who are we when all of this is ripped away from us in the real world?”

In his Playwright’s Note, Roberts stated: “In the original ‘Orestes’, there is a presence that stalks the shadows and emerges as Apollo at the end.” The online audience was told to log in at least 15 minutes prior to show time to ensure there were no logistic problems. Make sure you do so as the team of Thomas Ryder Payne (Sound Designer), Frank Donato (Video and Stream Designer and Operator) and toasterlab – Ian Garrett (Web Interface) have meticulously orchestrated a glowing colourful visual of words and subjects being scrolled up on the right side of the screen coupled with a high-pitched siren like sound that never seemed to end. While waiting for the production to begin, I felt this tingling sensation that someone (or something) for some reason seemed to be stalking me.  Highly effective.

As I watched the story unfold, a specific literary connection came to my mind. This was Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 in which Mildred Montag (wife of central character, Montag) only has emotional connection to the world of family of the soap opera which plays on the wrap around gigantic screen in the living room of her home. This family periodically stops the action of the story, and one of the ‘larger than life’ characters turn to the camera and directly ask Mildred periodically what she would think. 

As Electra, Orestes’ sister, Krystin Pellerin became electrifyingly larger than life for me as her face loomed over my computer screen while speaking to her brother about governmental collusions to erase his presence from online, and to get him back online. Electra wants her uncle, Menelaus (a bold performance by Richard Clarkin who reminded me of former US president Donald Trump in his final days) to lift Orestes’ banishment and reminds him that he, too, is a murderer in starting the Trojan War in order to rescue his wife Helen (a vindictive Lisa Ryder). 

It was a surprising and welcome treat to see David Fox ‘un-retire’ for this role as Tyndareus, grandfather of Orestes and Electra, who boldly seizes the opportunity for his grandson to be punished for murdering his mother while putting pressure on Menelaus to ensure it’s done. As cousin Hermione who preps for her album release all the while dealing with family struggles, Eleanor Guy reflects a strong quixotic impetuousness in her new album and music video that are both in the cause of Orestes’ release.

There is a Greek chorus who are in true support of Orestes: Pylades (Jeff Ho), Orestes’ close friend; MandLbrot (Gabriella Sundar Singh), RuDaGold (Anthony Perpuse) and CASMR@NDRA (Bren Eastcott).  There are two points in the production where we get to follow a chorus member. However, this is where I had some computer issues where I clicked on one of them and was locked out and it took me a few minutes to be able to log back in and I missed important information.  The other time, I found that the synchronicity of voice and face were not in tune and it was difficult for me to follow what was being relayed about the story. I want to be clear that the computer problems I experienced on my end did not reflect any negativity on these artists’ performances.

Final Comments: This ‘Orestes’ for me was a departure from the traditional form of theatrical presentation to which we have all become accustomed before the worldwide pandemic shut the industry down. I joined in on the chat under another name and, from what I read in the chat, many had attended this opening night for the same reason I did. I wanted to be told a good story with solid actors who can deliver the goods.  And they did.

For this new theatrical presentation form (at least for now), I applaud Tarragon for doing all it can to keep the love of theatre alive and going in a new medium since we don’t know how long we will be out of the physical building.

For a computer novice like me, I felt as if I was missing something at the end. Later I had heard that if I had provided my telephone number when I logged in before the production began, I would have received a phone call from one of the characters which would have also added to the story interest. I chose not to sign up, and now I wished I had, so when you log in make sure you give your telephone number.

Photo provided by Tarragon Theatre

‘Orestes’ written by Rick Roberts runs to February 14. To book tickets, visit www.tarragontheatre.com.

CAST + CREATIVE
written by Rick Roberts

directed by Richard Rose
scenery and costume design by Shannon Lea Doyle
lighting design by Kimberly Purtell
sound design by Thomas Ryder Payne
video and stream design by Frank Donato
virtual theatre by toasterlab
assistant directed by Makambe K. Simamba
stage management by Sarah Miller
apprentice stage manager Alysse Szatkowski

featuring Cliff Cardinal (“Orestes”), Richard Clarkin (“Menelaus”), Bren Eastcott (“CASMR@NDRA”), David Fox (“Tyndareus”), Eleanor Guy (“Hermione”), Jeff Ho (“Pylades”), Krystin Pellerin (“Electra”), Anthony Perpuse (“RuDaGold”), Lisa Ryder (“Helen” and “Clytemnestra”) and Gabriella Sundar Singh (“MandLbrot”)

Twitter: @tarragontheatre
Facebook: /TarragonTheatre