Ion
Performed at Bath Spa University
Reviewed by Darryl Harris
Before seeing this production I had little knowledge of the story of Ion and afterwards I felt exactly the same. The storyline of this production was vague and at times seemed rushed; this was due to the play as a whole being only 20 minutes long.
The piece was put on by The Feathered Letter Company, an amateur theatre company that was born at Bath Spa University. This was the first piece I had seen by the company and I was relatively impressed. The reason for my “relatively” was a number of factors, choice of space, length of play and in some parts choice of script.
The performance space was small and gave the play an intimate feeling as the actors weaved in and out of the audience. The actors moved well and made the most of the little space they had and addressed the audience in an appropriate and convincing manner.
I didn’t judge this piece on the quality of acting but on the way it was crammed into 20 minutes. It was a shame it was so short as some of the characters such as, Ion himself, didn’t have the chance to build on their characterisation. What the audience did see of the actors was promising; the portrayal of Xuthus was a stand-out with his strong use of voice and convincing behaviour. My only criticism is that perhaps the aggressive shouting became a bit repetitive.
The set itself was creative considering the space and it was good to see that the director hadn’t been overambitious with it unlike many other productions. A simple table and chair setting on stage left provided a good visual for the audience to watch the action unfold. The play would have looked a lot grander if performed at a better venue.
The script was written especially for this production and claimed to be a modern adaptation of the Greek myth of Ion. The problem with the script was that the language still had the “ancient” tone to it but had unnecessary additions of modern terminology. A particular moment in the play saw Xuthus recommend Ion to play the “X-box” and this just seemed very out of place, this actually lowered the tone of the play and was laughable for the wrong reasons! The modern references were a bad choice and in my opinion the script should be revised for this problem. Apart from that, the tone was held well throughout by the good use of language, for example, Ion’s monologue at the beginning was beautifully written.
The last scene, in which a white sheet was raised and the female cast member undressed behind, was completely not needed and if it was some metaphor for another meaning then it was lost upon the audience. The problem with this piece was not bad directing, script or acting but timing.
The piece was enjoyable but would need to be extended to receive more praise. A pleasant evening was had and some potential was witnessed.
