I can but applaud a resurgence of interest in the classics, especially those we don't see that often, as in this case Seneca's Hercules Insane. This production does something even more startling that the revival of an Ancient Roman tragedy (we more often see people do the Greeks--possibly in hopes of seeing ourselves as in a Golden Age) in a pretty close approximation of how it was originally staged! Actors wore masks, spoke in meter, permeated stylized movements in every moment, and never shied from stuff some modern audiences might call obscene (as it for example showing erect phalluses...phalli?). It could have ended up almost farcical, very A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Instead it comes across as what Game of Thrones is trying to be--genuine power in the story of mere humans vying for cross purposes in a corrupt and imperfect world, reaping triumph and tears in equal measure if one is lucky. The whole cast and crew did wonders, making this weird theatrical world somehow familiar. Because it did feel familiar, did feel as if this were somehow an accurate mirror of a morally chaotic world where we remain baffled and indignant at the injustice which has never once failed to be a part of our every waking moment. That is the human condition, after all, the fount of all comedy and tragedy. Such recognition hits us like some kind of blow, yet not in terms of an assault. Honestly, it feels as if we've been in fight, and tried at least to give as good as we got. Isn't that also part of what it is to be human?
Hercules Insane was part of the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival and has now closed. I can hope we see its like again soon.
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