GALATEA (Red Bull Theater/WP Theater)****

 

By Dave 

Link: https://www.redbulltheater.com/galatea-mj-kaufman 

Available until: Friday March 26^th

Last week Red Bull Theater presented John Lyly’s Gallathea, first performed in 1588.

This week, Red Bull Theater and WP Theater present a more modern version of the show, Galatea, written by MJ Kaufman and first performed in 2018.

Galatea is said to be loosely based on Gallathea but it seems to me like it actually follows the story quite closely. The characters have the same names and Neptune is still causing trouble, demanding virgin sacrifices. The difference is more in the style – Galatea is written in modern language, it refers directly to modern terms like transgenderism and it’s very witty.

Ideally with a production like this you want it to be saying something new about the original story. I’m not really sure it does because I’ve always thought of Gallathea as a trans story which has relevance today and felt it wasn’t that far away from being a comedy. But Galatea is a lot of fun, MJ Kaufman has written the characters wonderfully and there is something about their play which makes it seem like a lot more than just a modern rewrite. Although the script is funny, it’s not making fun of the story or the characters. It’s fun and good-hearted but you don’t lose the more serious issues like Neptune and his demands and the two dads, who might seem pushy on the surface but are really doing it out of love. They want their daughter to be safe and who wouldn’t?

Director Will David has obviously encouraged his cast to have fun with their dual roles and that works really well. The scene announcements are also really great – we find out where the cast are when they hold up cardboard signs. It tells us what we need to know and it’s in keeping with the humour of the play so it was great. I wasn’t completely sure about some of the casting choices though. The acting was all brilliant but if you’re writing a story about two women who dress as men and fall in love, it does seem a bit surprising for one of the women to be played by a man. He’s a transgender man but a trans man is a man. Though if he wants to play the role, why not?

Futaba Shioda is a very sweet Galatea. His previous experience as a biological woman might give him an extra insight into the role but maybe it’s more that he’s a brilliant actor. His comic timing is perfect but it’s also a really touching performance that makes Galatea into a woman we care about and don’t want to be sacrificed – not that we’d want any other woman to be sacrificed either.

Galatea’s love interest, Phyllida, who is very open about her preference for women, is played by Jo Lampert. Jo’s Phyllida is confident, outspoken and a lot of fun. It’s really good to see the differentiation between the two women. If Gallathea does have a flaw it’s that it gives the impression that girls pretending to be boys are all the same. That’s definitely not the case in Galatea.

Ty Defoe and TL Thompson double up as the dads and Diana’s glamorous attendants. They are bossy as Melebeus and Titerys but still distinctive and they seem to be having a lot of fun as Telosia and Eurota, posing with the foliage and gossiping with Pooya Mohseni’s elegant Ramia and… not being completely complimentary all the time. Pooya is also moving as Hebe and powerful as Venus. Esco Jouley is a mischievous Cupid and a quirky but definitely still menacing Neptune.

Aneesh Sheth is the only character to appear in both plays and she plays Diana in both. She’s still formidable but there are subtle differences in the performances. I think if you watched an extract from both her performances on mute, you would probably know which was which.

This is a really enjoyable play and if you don’t know Gallathea, I don’t think that matters. This is a complete play with a great story and some brilliant writing.