SEVEN AGAINST THEBES @ THEATRO TECHNIS

In celebration of the Olympic Games taking place in London, Theatro Technis played host to The Great Dionysian Festival, a marathon of five plays chronicling the extraordinary life of Oedipus…

Seven Against Thebes, the third production in this succession of plays centres around two young kings, Eteocles and Polynices both intent on fighting for the throne. In this war-ridden city, we watch on as family ties are broken, a Kingdom is divided and a chorus display the sorrow caused by the warring brothers actions.

The text, rich in poetic verse served as the focal point in this piece as streams of monologues echoed the thoughts and feelings of the various characters portrayed. The piece is situated in Thebes, and we view the perspective of Eteocles, the brother currently ruling. This served as a strong device to create tension as it built up the stakes for when Eteocles and Polynices finally meet for battle. For me however the piece was quite static. I felt that the elaborate language employed could have been accompanied by a lot more powerful imagery. There were moments when I felt the chorus really helped to establish the atmosphere but I felt they could have been incorporated into the piece a lot more. All in all I give Seven Against Thebes a 3/5.

Seven Against Thebes
Written by Aeschylus
Theatro Technis

Written by Theatrefullstop