Poetry for the stranded souls

Theatre
Ovidius in Exsilio
University of Malta

Exile, for whatever reason, is hard to accept and much harder to live through.

The production was thus equally insightful, instructive and entertaining – a good example of how an audience should feel after a performance- André Delicata

When the celebrated Roman poet Ovid was exiled in 8 AD, for obscure reasons which he described briefly as “a poem and an error”, he was consumed by an over-arching and frustrating sense of emotional, literary and expressive stagnation – exiled by language as well as culture and environment.

Mediteatru and the Malta Classics Association attempted to examine this in Ovidius in Exsilio, their original production for Evenings on Campus.

Scriptwriter Ġorġ Peresso, who also provided the voice-over recordings used throughout the course of the play, examined the relationship that Ovid had with his servants and his students and its influence on his artistic production and his outlook on life.

The play had a strong visual element through the very good use of lighting and Lara Vella’s simple yet effective costume concept ­– in their choice of colour and what it reflected about the characters.

Director Keith Borg made some wise decisions when it came to staging, using black flats, spot and mood lighting a minimal set and props as well as an ever-fixed, ever-burning floor lamp in whose flame flickered the passion within the mundane characters of Ovid’s simple household in Tomis.

The sequence involving dancer Stefanelle Cachia, showing the natural beauty of the transformed Narcissus in the story Ovid teaches his students and slaves, was an excellent touch.

With Anthony Ellul playing Ovid, the show was off to a good start – I felt that this was a part Mr Ellul was particularly well suited to.

He interpreted it not simply with clarity and well-judged pacing but also with a good understanding of the poet’s waspish attitude coloured by his longing for Rome and cultural life with undertones of his growing sexual interest in his Slave girl, played by Simone De Battista.

This young woman was attractive to him because of her simplicity and lack of refinement which were counter-balanced by intelligence and lively personality.

Ms De Battista gave a credible and enjoyable performance, especially thanks to the timing and banter which she shared both with Mr Ellul and with Mark Schembri, who played the male household Slave.

Mr Schembri’s Slave was likable and just as caustic in his remarks as his master and together these three exposed the humour and tribulations of daily life in a household where an intellectually suppressed master has to deal with servants who gave him a good run for his money.

Ovid’s students, represented by a trio of young men – Claudio Carta, Kurt Pawley and Chris Scicluna, were a rowdy, randy bunch, interested as much in exploring sex as they were in learning about Roman life, myths and poetry.

One of the reasons why they follow Ovid is his previously published Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love).

Their banter, crass comments and constant provocation of Mr Schembri’s Slave was a reflection of the youth and enthusiasm which kept Ovid from sending them packing.

In his attempts to teach his entire household the story of Narcissus, Ovid sets the scene for a richer, more complex relationship with his Slave Girl.

This, intermingled with her growing self-consciousness and his changing perception of self, leads Ovid to compose his five books on Tristia (Sorrows), a deeper, more introspective poetic rendering of his exiled condition.

Thus, the metaphor of Narcissus looking into the water and seeing his reflection, becomes all the more significant when he sees himself for whom he really is – reflecting Ovid’s condition – it goes beyond the notion of self-adoration and becomes a matter of self-revelation.

The production was thus equally insightful, instructive and entertaining – a good example of how an audience should feel after a performance at Evenings on Campus.