February 2010American Conservatory Theater’s Phedre Reworked with Modern TwistsBy Mike StillmanThe 17th century tragedy Phedre, recognized as French playwright Jean Racine’s finest work, has been recrafted with a modern English translation and an avant-guard soundtrack at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater (ACT). In this world-premier run, Director Carey Perloff leads a cast of ACT actors and members of the Canadian Stratford Shakespeare Festival Company, whose classical acting abilities captivate the audience with portrayals of tormented characters carrying out a series of betrayals fueled by illicit desires. Timberlake Whittaker’s translation abandons the rhyme scheme of Racine’s verse but doesn’t stray from the original plot line. In the wake of a rumor concerning the death of Theseus, the King of Athens, his wife Phedre admits that she’s in love with Hippolytus, Theseus’s son from an illegitimate affair. Hippolytus rejects his stepmother’s advances, and in turn admits that he’s in love with Aricie, whose six brothers lead an unsuccessful coup to dethrone his father. Set in ancient Greece, Phedre’s characters wear 17th Century French clothing while shouting out to Greek Gods in modern English. The lack of a cohesive setting, combined with the stage’s sparse backdrop, draw more attention to the dialogue, as if in this world all that matters is speech. There are occasional bursts of humor as key characters admit their forbidden desires and so plainly cause their own demise. But the play never loses intensity. Veteran actress Seana McKenna, who has played twenty of Shakespeare’s leading female roles in her thirty year career, plays Phedre. Fellow Stratford Shakespeare Festival actor Jonathan Goad plays Hippolytus. Both characters appear constantly anguished, as if they’re innocent victims of the pain caused by their passions. A sparse cello and percussion arrangement by composer David Lang heightens suspense as the play spirals towards its ending. When Theseus returns to Athens alive, Phedre and Hippolytus are forced to face the consequences of their formerly secret desires, and the audience witnesses a tragic masterpiece in a production that’s wholly accessible without lacking substance.
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