Introduction
Choephori and Medea are the performances presenting the professional acting skills of their actors and differing from all others by their emotionality and deep psychological sense.
Description of The Choephori
Choephori directed by Peter Hall impresses by its expressiveness. Appropriate atmosphere reflected by the actors coincide with the style of the performance. One cannot but pay attention to the make-up and clothes of the actors. Ancient masks hiding the faces of the actors make the whole atmosphere mysterious and threatening at the same time. The basic element of the performance is psychological complexity presented by the actors. They managed to create tense and involving participation of the audience in the action. One of the strong points of the performance is the vocal quality; emotional, expressive and rhythmical pronunciation of the utterances transfers the mood of the actors to the audience. It is important to stress the significant role of the music which underlines a “blood for blood” atmosphere.
Comparison of two plays
The performance Medea presents a different from Choephori style. This performance was directed by Mark Cullingham and Robert Whitehead in 1982. The actors of this performance transfer the audience in to the time of ancient Greece. In comparison with Choephori the actors of this performance are made up more realistic and their eyes are open to the audience. Their play causes trust and sympathy for the leading performer of the story.
Though the years of both performances almost coincide, one can notice a vivid difference in the manner of presentation. Medea is an example of a depressive story which is concentrated on the sufferings of a miserable woman. The involvement of children into the performance says about the necessity of atmosphere change.
The mood of the Choephori is showed from the very first scene of Orestes whose emotional and tragic address to his father impresses greatly and makes the audience be involved into the deeply moving scene. Prays, oaths and threats of a brother and a sister provide tragic and terrible reality of ancient times showed by the actors. The mixture of additional voices presented by performers makes the scene more real and three-dimensional. It seems as if the actors address the audience rather than each other and call for participation, but they do it indirectly; while in Medea one can observe the direct address of the nurse to the audience from the very first scene of the performance.
To contrast both performances it is important to stress that vocal in Medea differs a lot from Choephori. It is a combination of quiet and loud cues showing the mixture of positivity and negativity performed by the actors. Medea as well as Choephori is very expressive and emotional and the quality of the actors’ play can be evaluated as very high and professional because they managed to disclose their time in all details and make the audience believe them and trust.
The vocal of the leading actress is psychologically deep and involving; it distinctly reflects all her emotions and sufferings and shows the dullness of her existence. It is not the music that makes the mood of the scene but the rhythmical way of presentation. Medea covers the play of many actors while in Choephori important roles are given only to several actors and the most of the performance is concentrated only on them.
Choephori is more symbolic performance: sand, masks, clothes, decorations are the center of the scene. In comparison with it, Medea focuses more on the play of the actors, on their ability to communicate with the audience and provide direct participation of the viewers. Medea and Choephori are reflections of different epochs and different nations. The actors managed to express all the peculiarities of their texts with the help of strong vocal and professional acting skills. Both performances make the audience believe in the events and suffer the tragedies together with the performers. They managed to establish rapport with the viewers and involve them into the time they reflected in their scenes.
References
Mark Cullingham & Robert Whitehead. Medea. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Eisenhower Theater, Washington, DC, 1982.
Peter Hall. Choephori. Channel Four, London, England & National Theatre of Great Britain. Oresteia Company, London, England, 1983.