BWW Reviews: AN ILIAD is a Masterpiece in Storytelling at Berkeley Rep

Be prepared.  There are no vast projections of ships and battlefields or ancient fighting men. An overturned table on Rachel Hauck’s sparse stage becomes both rampart and bed and a chair is a chariot.  A few more props are used – but other than that, the play is distilled and focused on Woronicz – and he is masterful. That said, lighting (Scott Zielinski) and absolutely compelling sound effects (Mark Bennett) are pivotal to the storytelling, almost becoming second and third actors in the performance.

“They want to go home,” sings the plaintive poet. He’s speaking of the Greeks but it could easily be any battle worn warrior in any age, missing home. “They’ve forgotten why they’re fighting…how do you know when you’ve won?”  How much longer must he tell the tale?

An Iliad
Adapted by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare from Homer
Directed by Peterson
Through Nov. 18
Berkeley Repertory's Thrust Stage
100 minutes with no intermission
www.berkeleyrep.org.

Photo courtesy of Kevinberne.com.

Linda Hodges is a freelance writer who has been covering the vibrant and exciting San Francisco Bay Area theater scene for the past two years. A dedicated theater aficionado, Linda first became involved in the dramatic arts while in college, becoming one of the first “techies” at her school to be voted into Delta Psi Omega, the National Theater Honor Society. She holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Pacific School of Religion and maintains that theater, at its best, is a religious experience! Linda is currently working on her first novel and, as always, is looking forward to another opening night.

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