The play, now showing at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre until the end of June, is a one-man musical show starring Hawksley Workman. The celebrated Canadian musician wrote the play along with director Christian Barry.
It’s an unusual setup for a musical performance — the play begins with Workman, with plenty of theatrical intonation, explaining the story of Dionysus and King Pentheus. In short, a king was not pleased with his subjects — slaves and women — worshiping Dionysus, who on his mountain placated his followers with wine. The followers would then be a part of massive orgies. The king, displeased, met with Dionysus, who told him to observe the goings-on himself. So Pentheus dressed as a woman, but was quickly discovered when he climbed up a tree to get a better look. He was torn to pieces by the throng of women, including his own mother.
That’s just the beginning, however, and a small footnote of the production. From then on, Workman recounts the tale as a musical journey. The stage features a slew of instruments, including drums, keyboards and a guitar, which he moves across with ease. The songs paint a more complex portrait of the three characters of the story: Pentheus, a violence-loving, gender-and-sexuality-confused, violence-loving king; Pentheus’ mother, a woman who simply wants to take care of her son but is confined by the shackles of society; and Dionysus, the mischievous and easygoing god of the people.
One of the things the play does excellently is use the entire stage. At the beginning of the show, three mannequin heads with a small bit of adornment represent the three characters, but Workman seamlessly incorporates them into the show. A mannequin also sees some use, involving perhaps the most raunchy way to play a harmonica ever. To the left and right of the stage are large neon signs, each of which are lit strategically to further emphasize the mood of the music.
Dionysus being the god of wine and sex, the play speaks volumes about the latter, incorporating plenty of double-entendres (like, say, the play’s title, for example) and a musical manifestation of an orgasm, and later an orgy.
Musically, the songs are solid, ranging from loud and stomping (these songs are usually heavy on guitar and drums) to more delicate numbers on piano or even synthesizer. Workman’s music background gives him a great voice for projecting, so even when he’s switching between microphones the song doesn’t lose momentum. His loud songs can sometimes be a bit harsh on the ears just by pure volume standards (a pair of earplugs is recommended) but the mics are necessary because of the frequent use of musical looping.
At 75 minutes without an intermission, the show is just the right length and manages to expand on the Greek story with just the right amount of precision. The play is never heavy-handed in its themes, but the final number provides a sort of thematic summation and a soft way to end a powerful performance.
Check this show out while you can — you’ll never see a story out of Greek mythology quite like this.
