Jason Ventures Into New World
PLAY IS ‘MORE HOMER SIMPSON THAN HOMER’
Posted: November 6, 2009 at 6:59 a.m.
FAYETTEVILLE — Like Jason’s quest to find the coveted Golden Fleece, Scotland’s Visible Fictions theater company has taken on a treacherous and nearly impossible mission - to bring Greek mythology to life in the modern world.
Variety calls the result, “Jason and the Argonauts,” coming to the Walton Arts Center for one show only at 4 p.m. Sunday, “more Homer Simpson than Homer” and “laudably cute, replete with action figures ofeveryone from Orpheus to Hercules, a wooden cart that transforms into the Argo and cameos by superheroes old and new.”
Called “sly, silly, sophisticated and altogether winning” by The New York Times, the play is “sprinkled with latter-day references that range from ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Back to the Future’ to Barbie, Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Titanic’ and, of course, the 1963 film ‘Jason and the Argonauts,’ with its remarkable special effects by Ray Harryhausen.”
“It’s like watching two grown men on stage playing like two boys,” admits Dougie Irvine,the artistic director of Visible Fictions. “It’s very faithful to the story, but if you’re going to do a Greek myth using action figures, you can’t really take ittoo seriously!”
The tale opens with “two traveling hobos, for want of a better description,” Irvine says.
“One of our storytellers wants to tell this story by himself, because the other storyteller is a bit of a troublemaker who doesn’t like to stick to the script,” Irvine relates. “Josh is persuaded by Andy to let him join in again, and this time he won’t knock around.
“Of course, Andy can’t help himself, but he keeps coming back on track.”
But, Variety cautions, “if it sounds like a boys’ toys version of the ancient adventure story,take heart: Performers Simon Donaldson and Tim Settle oblige older auds with disciplined multicharacter performances and a panoply of striking storytelling improvisations.”
“This family-friendly performance combines monsters and mayhem with classic literature to please both children and adults,” says WAC spokeswoman Bethany Goodwin. “It showcases the power of theater to inspire imagination and the selfexploration that exists in everyone.”
Tickets range from $8.50 to $14.50 by calling 443-5600.
Entertainment, Pages 3 on 11/06/2009
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