Continuing his long collaboration with Teatro Nuovo, Neapolitan cultural icon Mario Martone with his Teatro Uniti presented his adaptation of Seven Against Thebes. The major changes Mr. Martone made were to set the drama in a modern besieged city (presumably Bosnian Serbia, given the Orthodox shrine in one corner) and to elevate Antigone, played by favored collaborator Anna Bonaiuto, to be as important as her brother Eteocles (Marco Baliani).
As set in Teatro Nuovo's two-level experimental space Sala Assoli, entrances are made through wide doors opening onto the street in view of the audience seated below on bleachers on the level of the main playing area, a military command center where wounded are tended. Rounds of gunfire are heard in the street outside as wounded fighters are brought in for medical care. (The first rehearsals even sparked excited calls from the neighbors to the local police.)
After leader Eteocles recounts the events leading to the siege, a messenger (Roberto De Francesco), in rigid military stance, reports on each enemy fighter at the seven gates. Eteocles has no difficulty selecting a superior combatant for each until the seventh, when he is stunned to learn that his brother, Polynices, is waiting. Each man leaves to fight his respective opponent, and in an extended wordless sequence, the women set a long table. The soldiers return with the news that the city is saved, but the two doomed sons of Oedipus have fought to the death in fulfillment of his curse. As enemy, Polynices has been refused public burial by decree. In a grand gesture, defiant Antigone sends all the dishes and candelabra crashing as she declares that she will bury both brothers.
Rehearsing and performing the Aeschylus tragedy will be documented in Mr. Martone's forthcoming film.
