‘She is monstrous thy daughter’
As a teenager, one of the first classic books I read, incidentally, was by Oscar Wilde after a friend recommended ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. Wilde captured the true horror of a person’s character; physically Dorian was a picture of youth and moral standing, but in the portrait that represents Dorian’s soul, his spirit is decaying and putrefying.
And princess Salomé, the daughter of Herod and Herodias is a thing of beauty where many in the kingdom are told ‘not to look at her like that’.
However, just like Dorian, her mind is full of darkness and sin and her wicked motives are reflected in the changing moon – her skin is as pale as the shining sphere in the sky and throughout the play, it turns a deeper shade of red, symbolising that blood will be spilt by sundown.
After we hear the treacherous murmurings of prophet Jokanaan from the depths of the cistern, Salomé becomes intrigued and asks her servants if she can speak with him.
Despite refusing her request, a Syrian who is so taken aback by Salomé’s beauty grants her wish.
But Jokanaan does not succumb to her charm – he won’t let her touch his skin or kiss his lips and here the play becomes slightly erotic, as Salomé caresses herself below her waist.
The scene then turns to the banquet at the palace where Herod requests Salomé to dance for him and he promises to give her anything, even half his kingdom, if she will fulfil his wish.
Salomé, played by Liza Weber, gives an empowering, potent and sensual display to the delight of Herod.
All that she requests is the head of Jokanaan in return, and despite Herod’s pleas that something bad would happen, he is a man of his word and the deed is done.
He shouts ‘she is monstrous thy daughter’ to his Herodias as Salomé can finally kiss Jokanaan’s lips and stroke his skin as she dances with his head dripping with blood.
Salomé, a production by Théâtre Libre is a departure from The Space’s usual plays.
Having been to a number of performances at the fringe theatre in the Isle of Dogs, the idea to run Salomé was a bold one.
Théâtre Libre attempted to approach the little-known play by Wilde from a modern, feminist angle, exploring the objectification of women and how the gaze of male eyes shapes the character. This was reflected in the prolonged, sensual dance performed by Salomé showing that in order for her to get what she wants, she must display her body to please the powerful male ruler of the kingdom.
Produced by Oran Doyle, and directed by Kaitlin Argeaux who founded Théâtre Libre, at times the audience was exposed to uncomfortable and graphic scenes – quite rightly so – and this highlights the great performance by the actors with particular applaud going to Liza Weber and Christopher Slater (Herod).
Both were impassioned and true to their characters, and Herodias, Cheska Hill-Wood, came into her own as a mother defending the actions of her daughter and defending her honour against the ramblings of the prophet Jokanaan.
The stage set-up and lighting for the production of Salomé was of particular importance, especially with all the references to the colour of the moon and this was executed well throughout the play.
Salomé is showing at The Space until 19 September, tickets cost from £10.