A review of Shoestring’s Bakkhai at Stamford Arts Centre

While I don’t doubt the importance of keeping ‘The Classics’ alive, some ways of achieving this are better than others.

Take the Netflix series Kaos, screened last year with Jeff Goldblum as Zeus and Billie Piper as Cassandra. That did a reasonable job of explaining ‘who was who’ up Mount Olympus and the plot was easy to follow, even after a full-on day and a glass of ouzo.

Could the same be said about Stamford’s Shoestring Theatre Company’s latest choice of play? Unfortunately not.

Bakkhai was written by Ancient Greek chap Euripides about 2,450 years ago and, even after a modernising spruce up by poet and classist Anne Carson, it was a tricky tragedy to get into. In fact, I was baffled.

Only half the seats at Stamford Arts Centre’s theatre were occupied for the first night yesterday (Tuesday), and I can imagine it’s been a tough sell for the publicity team.

This was a shame, since there were good actors on stage, notably Simon Hix-Litten doing a sterling job as the King of Thebes, and Tom Heritage having fun as Dionysos. But aside from some well-delivered and lengthier speeches by the actors Helen Naylor, Dominique Norris and Jocelyn Needham, the cast was confined to group chants and small parts.

Shoestring was at its recent best with Jack Absolute Flies Again, which filled the theatre back in December and was an real joy.

Fingers’ crossed the company’s September production of The 39 Steps, adapted from the fun, exhilarating novel by John Buchan, brings back the magic of Jack.

Tickets for Bakkhai are £12, concessions £10, available from Stamford Arts Centre at tinyurl.com/ShoestringGreek

Performances are 7.45pm nightly until Friday, June 6, with Saturday’s performance at 6.30pm.