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Iphigenia in Splott
Birmingham Rep Door
***** IN GREEK Mythology, Iphigenia was
sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon, who gave her up to the gods to
ensure a smooth voyage to Troy In Gary Owen’s work of new writing, the
parallels to the themes of sacrifice are apparent, however, his story of
Effie tells us about how we as a society live today and gives a voice to
those who are easily overlooked. Owen’s one-woman piece has an extremely clever
viewpoint, highlighting the fact that nobody is less important. He gives
Effie a straight talking and brash persona and holds a mirror to the
shortcomings of establishments and society in the modern world. Owen is
a feminist and adheres to the sacrifice of motherhood. Above all, he
stands up for those who rarely have their voice heard. Iphigenia in Splott is a wonderfully insightful
and heart-breaking piece. Having won the award in 2015 for Best New
Play, it is clear that this play speaks to everyone and Owen is not
afraid of telling society where they have gone wrong. He does this with
a perfect combination of script, character and setting to feed his
viewpoint to highlight those in desperate need of help. Owen’s setting is the here and now within the
district of Splott in Southern Cardiff. He shines a light on Effie, a
young woman whose life centres on drink and drugs. With hangovers every
day and a ‘do what I want’ attitude, Owen paints a picture of Effie that
is uncontrollable. Owen tells the story of why the thoughts of society
need to be changed, and fast, through the actions, and attitude of the
raucous girl. Effie is played perfectly by Sophie Melville. She
is a complicated and deeply misunderstood character, entrenched with a
pre-disposed anger at the world. Throughout the course of the play, this
anger is justified and is aimed at particular people and groups as the
story unfolds, men from one night stands, unsupportive friends and
indeed hospitals.
Melville capture’s Effie’s raw and ungentle
essence of character with an ease of truthfulness. Her accent is coarse
and the audience are intimidated by her presence from her very first
word. Even her look is akin to those that we may pass on the street
every day. The hoody that is so commonly presented to us as
the uniform of the worst of society completes Effie’s rough costume of
gym leggings and slicked back hair. Indeed, this is exactly the effect
that Owen wants to create. Iphigenia in Splott is about those at the
very bottom, who are never looked at. Finally they have a platform to
tell the incredibly important experiences that happens every day through
the character of Effie. Melville does a wonderful job in presenting
Owen’s thoughts and profound message. She is incredibly strong and her
confident performance instils a deep-rooted trust between her and the
audience. She delivers Owen’s marvellous script with a clear
understanding of what it is to live in a drug and drink fuelled world. This is indeed important, however, Melville’s
commitment to Effie’s experiences are what makes her performance so
touching and memorable. With the skilled and meticulous direction from
Rachel O’Riordan, actor and director work together to deliver Owen’s
marvellous script in the most creative of ways. Melville is poetical and
presents the rhythmic script the script with great ease. Hayley
Grindle’s simple design of set is marvellous to show a rough and unkempt
Splott, along with the harsh lights by Rachel Mortimer to highlight
Owen’s plot. Each element is a catalyst to drive the story until it
comes to its emotional crescendo. The Greek Iphigenia was Agamemnon’s sacrifice,
given up to the god’s for the ‘greater good’. Effie is overlooked by all
of us. Although she has not chosen to make the sacrifice of her own
life, she has been forced to give up all she has by other powers. Owen
tells us that Iphigenia’s story is still relevant today, in the form of
Effie. There are more Effie’s than we think and these are the people
baring the burden of the choices of higher powers. Iphigenia in Splott
asks us the question about what will happen when those when they can no
longer take the shortcomings of society, in order to look at our own
place in the world. To 19-03-16 Elizabeth Halpin 15-03-16
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