There’s no doubt about it. I enjoyed the National Arts Centre latest play, Metamorphoses. But it’s not so obvious to me why.
Metamorphoses is an imaginative telling of the myths of Ovid, a Roman poet who, even during his time, took a new twist on traditional Greek mythology. This version of Metamorphoses, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman, turns the tales on their heads once again.
The hour-and-a-half long performance consists of 10 stories all revolving around the two basic themes of sex and death. And is there ever a lot of sex and death. This is not a feel-good family show. However the clever writing manages to make these macabre stories surprisingly hilarious; the entire theatre was laughing throughout the tale of Phaeton as he tried to work through his daddy issues.
Even so, the most interesting aspect of the play had absolutely nothing to do with the narrative. The entire performance took place in and around a large pool. Towels were handed to those sitting in the front, along with the clever saying: “the first three rows get wet.” Given the size of some of the splashes made on stage, I wouldn’t doubt it. Oddly enough, I heard some of the cast recommend sitting in the balcony for this show.
The unusual nature of the stage allowed for a lot of creativity within the performance. The traditional myths were presented in an entirely new way. Most of the stories stuck to a classic telling of Ovid, however staging them in a pool managed to make the tales seem fresh and new. The play has done an amazing job of blending the classical and the modern. Never has mythology felt so relevant.
As someone who has studied several of the stories and seen them presented in a number of ways I highly enjoyed the imaginative presentation. But it was also a fantastic introduction to the myths I was not familiar with. People who have never heard of Ovid are as likely to enjoy the show as those who love the myths. If you decide to go, and I would suggest you do, my only advice is this: go with an open mind and an empty bladder.
