REVIEW: Pasiphae at Etcetera Theatre / Camden Fringe 9-13 August 2023

‘An excellent introduction to the genre.’

It is always immediately engaging when walking into a theatre to find an actor already occupying the stage. Even, as in this case, inaction can stir up the most captivating tension.

The sleeping queen Pasiphae is cursed with a lustful obsession for the bull her husband King Minos of Crete refused to sacrifice to the god Poseidon. The Fates enter, circling in a mesmerising motion sharing the dialogue between themselves and introducing the story. The monochrome visuals are stark. The white Fates weave against a black background around the solitary green of the sleeping daughter of the sun god Helios. Simple but very effective. The costume props, a streak of red sash and a dull grey blue cloak are all the cast use. And they need little more. These were deftly applied to members of the cast who switched characters while on stage. This kept the action flowing while Pasiphae’s incessant monologue drew the audience into the ever-increasing madness of her possession as she held center stage throughout.

The lighting was simple too and never distracting. The background soundtrack was well applied but had to compete with an electric fan and the untimely switching on of the air conditioning and downstairs pub noise. A few words of dialogue may have been lost but I don’t think anybody in the audience really noticed. And why would they?

The performance was captivating. Theatre goers have been coming here and to small venues like this for as long as can be remembered and they will continue to do so if performances are as expertly directed and professionally executed as this one. Why break the bank to watch something in the west end when there are dozens of little gems like this one, hidden away above London pubs. With talented actors on show every week performing original material.

Evie Chandler’s play is very good and the cast told the story well and made it easy to follow. The mask used for the bull’s head was rough but with the Fates transforming into the body of the beast its battered appearance only added to the atmosphere. The stomping snorting bull was given life by the three cast members who formed its body. It approached the queen who had been transformed by another mask, the creation of Daedalus of flying fame. Then blackout.

Pasiphae was the mother of the Minotaur, the offspring of her union with the bull. He was later slain by Theseus who ends up marrying her daughter Ariadne, who as high priestess ensures the survival at birth of her half-brother when King Minos tries to have the creature killed. The Fates round off the story by telling us all this. But the queen remains defiant in the face of the coming disasters her curse has in store for her and her family. In a twist of poetic justice and justification of her defiance, Pasiphae exists today. She can be seen in the night sky orbiting the planet Jupiter as one of its moons.

An ending like that really shows how emotive Greek Tragedy can be. Were all the best stories written thousands of years ago and do all our modern action movies and special effects even come close? At one hour long this is an excellent introduction to the genre.

Presented by Fat Cow Theatre

Social Media - Twitter & Instagram @fatcowtheatre

Cast and Company List

Pasiphae - Cecile Taylor

Minos - Lucy Miller

Minotaur - Rosalind Wippell

Ariadne - Daisy Dent

Writer, Co-Director, Lighting Designer - Evie Chandler

Director - Kate Austin

Assistant Director - Jennifer Chen

Composer - Stan Hunt

Choreographer - Alix Addinall

Puppet Designer - Amy Brian

Reviewed by Robert McLanachan