After a two-year delay caused by the pandemic, Upstream Theater has opened its staging of Iphigenia in Splott. The production was worth the wait thanks to a towering performance by Jennifer Theby-Quinn.
Gary Owen’s dramatic monologue relocates a character from Greek mythology to a place in contemporary Wales. Iphigenia was a victim of human sacrifice in a power struggle among city states during the Trojan War. Splott is a working-class district in Cardiff near the docks.
Owen’s Effie does not evoke sympathy when she bursts onto the stage and lambastes the audience for prejudging her. “You are all here to give thanks / To me,” she scornfully asserts. She has come to collect a debt everyone owes her. The monologue explains why.
Effie’s life is a model of self-indulgence. “I live my life a million miles an hour,” she proclaims, “do what I like, when I like.” She sneers at her disapproving grandmother but takes the banknotes she leaves on Effie’s table. Effie needs the money to fund the cycle of three-day hangovers that are the only way she gets through the week.
While barhopping with her boyfriend and her flatmate, Effie notices a nice-looking stranger staring at her from a distance. She ditches her boyfriend, walks toward her new admirer, and begins making moves to attract him to the dance floor. When the stranger does not join her, she notices he is on crutches, but she is not discouraged.
The consequences of this encounter take Effie down a circuitous path that makes her a victim of governmental underfunding and leads to the sacrifice that puts others in her debt.
Effie’s emotional journey encompasses an enormous range, defying the expectations created by her initial swagger. Theby-Quinn nails every moment and makes every transition seamless in a brilliant characterization. Her Welsh accent (coached by Teresa Doggett) creates a distinct sense of place without interfering with her expressiveness or her understandability.
Visual interest never flags owing to Theby-Quinn’s arresting, purposeful movement throughout the monologue under Patrick Siler’s direction. The eroticism in one scene is staggering.
Laila Alvarado’s scenic and costume designs are highly effective in their spareness. Joseph W. Clapper’s lighting and Kareem Deanes’ sound are finely attuned to the action.
In response to the recent upswing in COVID-19 cases, Upstream severely limited attendance on the opening weekend and is encouraging patrons to buy tickets for the final weekend (February 4–6) in the expectation that the Omicron surge will have receded by then. Upstream will also offer a streamed version of the live event.
Upstream’s webpage for this show is https://www.upstreamtheater.org/Iphigenia-In-Splott.
—Gerry Kowarsky
Photo by ProPhotoSTL.com
