Reviewed by Frank McKone
July 1
Written by Albert Camus
Directed by Isaiah Prichard
Set Design: Kathleen Kershaw
Cast: Mischa Rippon (Caligula), Tash Lyall (Caesonia), Amy Gottschalk (Cherea) with Alex Ellwood, Dan Fonn, Tigerlily Gledhill, Anabelle Hansen, Tom Neil, Sam Odgers, Paris Sharkie, Robert Weardon.
If you really want to understand how a youthful ancient Roman dictatorial emperor understood his freedom to have absolute power – which you might apply to a few political leaders today – this excellent production of Camus' play, written during World War 2, will have you shaking your head in wonder.
Mischa Rippon’s performance of the title role is remarkable for creating a philosophical intellectual, emotionally bound up in his search for the essential truth that the universe is not rational (or is simply random, as we might say today), and therefore he can love or kill anyone at whim.
Camus’s play does not bring in the modern discussion of what may have been the cause of the real Caligula’s erratic behaviour, such as epileptic psychosis (he suffered “falling sickness” as a child), but it places the surrounding senators in impossible positions, because he actually does have autocratic power. The cast, whether roles are played by women or men, very successfully create for us the growing horror, knowing in the end there is no way out except for them to kill him – as they did in real history.
The success of the presentation is suggested by the name of this new company: Performative. It means that the set design, the use of a weird array of costumes, and the choreographed movement style, and the manner of speaking means we are aware we are being told a story, not just of these individuals, but about us, if we just think about how others or even we ourselves apply our power to, or experience the power of others.
And we even, at times, find ourselves feeling sorry for Mischa’s Caligula. As the women realise, he is too young to take on such a responsibility, or to understand empathy in relationships. I’m not sure, if you compare his Caligula with his character in L’Etranger whether Camus would have expected this, but I think Mischa’s variety of moods, as well his capacity to make clear the abstract philosophy of this Caligula is a great strength of Performative Theatre’s production.
It’s good to see another Canberra company taking on such worthwhile theatre.
Mischa Rippon as Caligula, with Alex Ellwood. Photo supplied
