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REVIEW | The Penelopiad, York Theatre Royal
AD | Tickets gifted in exchange of an honest review. All views are our own.
As the autumn nights draw in over York, York Theatre Royal invites us to hear the other side of one of literature's oldest stories. Margaret Atwood's 'The Penelopiad' is witty, inventive and deeply moving, and it had me hooked from the very first moment to the very last.
Margaret Atwood retells Homer's Odyssey from Penelope's point of view. Penelope is remembered as the devoted wife who waited twenty years for Odysseus to return from the Trojan War. Now she tells her side from the underworld, determined to take her story back, and gives a voice to the maids whose fate the original epic barely pauses over. Amelia Bullmore plays Penelope and is on stage throughout, while an all-female ensemble of eight embodies everyone else in her world, including the maids as a chorus, the group who speak, sing and move as one voice.
Juliet Forster directs this revival, the first major UK outing for the play in almost two decades. Kate Marlais is composer, musical director and sound designer, Sara Perks designs the set and costumes, Alexandra Stafford the lighting and Michelle Edwards is movement director.
I personally think Atwood's script gets its tone just right. There are plenty of light-hearted, comical moments, so when the painful ones arrive the contrast is striking, leaving the audience captivated and sympathetic towards the characters. The all-female company plays the male characters in a very comical way, while also bringing out the vulnerable side of being a woman in this story, switching roles within seconds.
Forster's production has it all: acrobatics, puppetry, dancing, singing, live instruments and physical theatre, where movement and the body tell the story. Everyone in the audience was intrigued to see what the chorus would do next. One sudden acrobatic image, created by the eight ensemble members, makes you gasp, and I won't spoil it here. The early pacing felt a little uneven to me, with a few awkward pauses between lines and scene changes. It was hard to tell whether a pause was dramatic or a moment to recall the line, though Bullmore has a huge amount to remember and never leaves the stage. Once it found its stride, I was keen to know what happened next.
Marlais gives the show some absolutely beautiful songs, with harmonies that are sometimes eerie, yet always beautiful. The clash between a sweet tune and a painful lyric keeps you on your toes, and much of the maids' sad story is told through song. Personally, I felt that the harmonies and clever lyrics felt scarily relevant given everything going on in the world right now. The eight maids captured it so well that it was heart-breaking to watch and brought tears to my eyes. The whole audience was silent.
Bullmore holds the evening together as Penelope, and her storytelling is warm, funny and heartfelt. Charlie Russell plays Odysseus and other characters and wowed me throughout with her physicality and the distinct mannerisms she gives each one.
Nell Baker (Kerthia/Laertes) is a truly multi-talented actor, performing acrobatic tricks, playing the accordion, working the puppetry, singing and dancing. Danielle Bird (Narcissa, the Oracle and Eurycleia) is another gifted acrobat, and plays the hilarious Nurse, Oracle in such a convincing and endearing way that every entrance felt like a treat.
Olivia Burton-Laws (Tanis/Naiad Mother) made her professional debut in this show and, as a deaf actor, beautifully adds British Sign Language to the piece. It is fully integrated, especially as Penelope's mother, when she gives her daughter advice through metaphors about water. Pena Iiyambo (Helen) is wonderfully vain as Helen of Troy, and Faye Campbell (Melantho) broke my heart in the best way during her emotional scenes towards the end. I had tears in my eyes and felt every word and movement. Kat Johns-Burke (Zoe/Icarius/Antinous) plays each of her characters with real commitment, making me love some of them and love to hate others.
Sara Perks' set is minimal but effective, and the costumes are simple but tell you exactly who each character is. The white set and Penelope's white, flowing costume work beautifully together, making her look almost heavenly. At times I found parts of the set distracting, such as a door being shut or silhouettes waiting behind the white curtain. They did not take too much of my attention from the beautiful storytelling around them. Edwards' choreography is simple but effective, and every person on that stage clearly gets a moment to shine, which made it very hard to pick a favourite.
What made the evening special was the atmosphere in the room. The audience felt as one: we laughed together, sat in silence together and sat in thought together.
Overall, 'The Penelopiad' is a witty, inventive and emotionally powerful retelling, led by a superb Bullmore and a multi-talented ensemble.
★★★★.5
'The Penelopiad' plays at York Theatre Royal until Saturday 31st October 2026:
