Frances Poet’s What Put the Blood explores Jean Racine’s Andromaque (1667), a beautifully written mimetic tragedy based on Euripides’ Andromache and the third book of Virgil’s Aeneid. Racine’s tragedies introduce some Aristotelian theories on tragic plot structure based on the Poetics. However, his tragedies also introduce positive tones, solutions and even romantic connotations. Thus, the tragic hero escapes from eternal suffering, and avoiding hamartia and katharsis. In other words, the character avoids their tragic flaw, therefore never passing through the vital process of purification. Similarly, in What Put the Blood, there is no violent action on stage, yet there are infringements on psychological theatre which descends from Racine. The lack of ‘acted’ violence makes the tragedy beautiful and not totally reliable.
The spectators arrive into an unsettling environment. Andromaque (Julie Rodgers) and Hermione (Lucianne McEvoy) are wearing wedding dresses covered in ‘blood’, though they are silent, apparently dead. They incorporate this element successfully through their lack of movement. There are chains on stage, loud rock music playing and the theatre is darkened. When the lights are turned on, the characters ‘come to life’. This creates a sense of claustrophobia— ‘Can I get some air?’ is one of the first lines — and despair as they explain their perspectives ‘directly’ to the audience in monologue. The whole mise-en-scène resembled a slaughterhouse, which connects to the dialogue, as Andromaque says, ‘We are all animals’.
The pacing of the dialogue was rapid, as if the audience was torturing the brides to discover their secrets. We learn that Hermione wanted to marry Red, but Andromaque agrees to marry him so he would not kill her son. One wedding, one betrayal, two brides, one death. Hermione seeks revenge to such a horrific extent that it leads to her contemplate suicide. These are irrational actions; the characters’ internal conflicts consume them. The performance makes us question if love exists in an environment where humans still behave like animals. The themes of love, nature of human psychic and law are noticed in the performance. The characters ask what would happen when law takes place, would man behave rationally or follow animal instincts? There is also a sense of existential crisis as the characters ask themselves ‘Why am I here?’
The performance was an hour long, fast-moving and absurd. What Put the Blood ran during Halloween week, allowing the ‘real’ and theatrical atmospheres to combine well and offer spectators a peculiar, though worthwhile experience.
Rating: ●●●●○
