Camilla Gurtler
Fringe festivals are known to display a variety of new writing, but there are also some hidden classics in the repertoire. This is highlighted by Lazarus Theatre’s the Tragedy of Mariam at the Camden Fringe Festival, the first play written openly by a woman. Performed for the first time in London, it is a huge risk to take but also a breath of fresh air much needed on the classic scene.
The year is 29 BC and King Herod is dead. His second wife, Mariam, must face her people and the loss of a tyrant, husband and enemy. However when Herod suddenly returns, dispelling the false report of his death, his immoral sister Salome falsely convinces him his beloved Mariam has been unfaithful in his absence, and Mariam is ordered executed. Being led by a female ensemble, the Tragedy of Mariam is a play about the female’s individual voice in a man’s world.
Lazarus Theatre Company specialises in the classics and has chosen a daring and intriguing play, not only fascinating because of its author Elizabeth Cary, but also because of its strong female chorus. The play opens with an ensemble of women enchanting the audience by singing and moving at a slow beat in dim lights. The audience is lured into a world of sex, power and passion by the mesmerising aesthetics of Gavin Harrington-Odedra’s production. Visually breath-taking it is ravishing watching the women move in the space, fantastically lit by lighting designer Rachel Smith, supported by the beautiful design of roses spread across the floor. The play is almost like a stream of conscience, performed mainly as monologues, and is led strongly by the charismatic Celine Abrahams playing the stoic Mariam. Abrahams is endearing and captivates her audience with a stillness and depth that’s intriguing to watch. The rest of the ensemble is doing a good job, with Paula James’s passionate and venomous Salome and Melisa Ramadan’s revengeful Doris being especially good.
The idea of The Tragedy of Mariam is great – presenting a “new” classic is fresh and much appreciated, and the production design is so stunning that you sometimes forget it’s a play and believe you are in a painting by a remarkable artist. However the play has been cut immensely to fit into the Camden Fringe time frame and therefore loses a bit of its sense. Characters’ relationships are not built up and explored as much as would have benefitted the piece, and at times we lose the sense of story and drift into admiration of the aesthetics instead. That said this is definitely a show you shouldn’t miss. It’s beautiful, captivating and a great change of air for those of you who love Shakespeare and his contemporaries but would like a whole new classical experience.
And if you (like I, I say with a big sob) have been left out of the Edinburgh Festival-wonder this year, then the Camden Fringe is a great place to start.
The Tragedy of Mariam is playing at the Tristan Bates Theatre until 17 August. For more information and tickets, see the Tristan Bates Theatre website.