Review: Lysistrata

Choosing to put on Aristophanes’ most famous comedy is a brave choice. Translating it yourself, setting it in World War Two, and using an all-female cast in place of the original all-male cast is even braver. Supported by TogaSoc, Peter Swallow, director and translator, has done a good job in what is a difficult task, although ultimately the production is not as effective as it might have been.

The set is good: on entering the Barron the audience is instantly taken back to the 1940s with Union Jack bunting strung around the theatre, and propaganda posters proudly hung upon the war. With the audience firmly placed in the War with the sounding of an air raid siren, the play begins with Lysistrata, played ably by Natasha Warby, informing Calonice of the situation the characters are in: stuck in a war-ridden stalemate which shows no signs of stopping. Lysistrata moves on to claim that the only way to rectify the war torn situation is to withdraw “cock” from the men fighting. It was in this early exchange that the weaknesses of the play began to be displayed with a series of risqué jokes falling very flat with the audience. A comedic play is in trouble when the word “dildo” doesn’t manage to raise even a giggle.

Following a set of incredibly long scene changes, Lysistrata moves on to inform the other women about the sex strike she is instigating. Alas, the production’s reliance on caricatures with some odd accent choices from the cast to bring comedy to this scene was mostly unsuccessful with the audience, although Courtney Stone’s depiction of a ‘dumb American’ did have the audience laughing. In using an all-female cast, the male characters of the play were patchy with some characters, notably the Chancellor, reduced to gurning and striding across the stage. However, Shonagh Smith shone as Strymodorus, almost unrecognisable as a woman in both her gestures and false moustache.

Swallow has taken on a mammoth task in his production, and it is exciting to see a student translated play go up. However, there needed to be a clearer sense of direction and setting within the production to allow it to reach its full potential.