Currently playing at DAADA theatre in Fremantle promethe(us) is a multi-disciplinary dive into the myth of Prometheus, those around him, and what we can pull from his story. The show features three performers using spoken word poetry reminiscent of Ancient Greek tragedies or the epics of Homer. It also features a live musician on guitar and vocals, who deepens the emotion of moment and breathes life into scenes.
Promethe(us). Photography by Jules Burton.
The verse and delivery is very strong, the performers deliver a captivating, extremely well-polished, and emotive show. Almost an hour straight of intense imagery which take us from Mount Olympus down to the bowels of the Earth. The three performers switch between narrators/spectators to the events of the myth, similar to the fates, and characters within the myth. Hunter Perry will often play as Zeus or other grand masculine figures in the myth, he has a strong physicality with an even stronger voice, bringing the intensity and aggression. Emmett Aster will often slip into Prometheus and gives us such a vulnerable, tortured, and powerful performance. Their strength in performance brings the story of Prometheus to life and invites the audience into a fantastic journey. Rachel Abelha brings the perspective of other goddesses and women in these stories often overlooked, she has a fantastic power to her performance with anger and vindictiveness. The true strength of their performances comes out in the moments away from the plot where we see the performers personal relation to the story. A highlight for me is Emmett’s brief monologue about dealing with moments of transphobia and misgendering/dead naming, these moments also highlight the true strengths in the writing as we see truly emotive and expressive language.
Promethe(us). Photography by Jules Burton.
Another aspect I absolutely loved was the live musical performances from Ben Vaughan. Often I find live music jarring or poorly integrated, but Benjamin is just perfect. From slow finger picked chords adding emotional layers to scenes, to eerie alternative playing styles, like moving the tuning down while dragging his finger across a string. These devices heightened the emotional tension and gave further strength to the performance and language.
Promethe(us) is a fantastic dive into a well-known story giving fresh perspective and a fantastic delivery. These story tellers are vivid, imaginative, and show fantastic artistic expression joined with a great team. I would love to see this group jump into something personal and original, story wise, to really let their amazing creativity flourish.
You can see Promethus(us) at Perth Fringe Festival on the 5th and 6th of February.