As the British summer shows its true colours I have the joy of getting out of the rain to see Ben Okri’s Changing Destiny. Some covid protocols have remained since my last trip to a theatre, but the buzz is back, and much of my good cheer is down to the fact that theatres are allowed to be back at full capacity (although there will continue to be socially distanced performances throughout August with with only 33% capacity), writes Christopher Peacock.
Changing Destiny has its roots in a 4000 year old Egyptian poem called Sinuhe. Sinuhe is an Egyptian soldier who splits from his own spirit and exiles himself from Egypt.
Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah this two-hander starts each performance with a game of rock-paper-scissors to determine who will play Sinuhe and who will play the spirit of Sinuhe and the many other characters he meets along the way. The story begins at a pace as Sinuhe flees Egypt to Libya only to be captured and taken to Syria. No time is taken in giving depth to the character of Sinuhe as we watch this man’s journey and struggle. Issues around migration are glanced at but not given time to develop within the play’s 60 minutes. What we are presented with, though, is a tale of a man’s internal struggle full of undeserved guilt and his crisis of identity. These concepts echo through the theatrical canon from Oedipus Rex to Hamlet and even in the work of Franz Kafka. It is enlightening to see that these can draw their cultural lineage back thousands of years and across continents.
Sir David Adjaye’s stage design makes great use of the Young Vic’s in-the-round staging. The stage is dominated by a pyramid with another inverted pyramid above, like an hourglass with no curves. Images are projected onto the top pyramid and the bottom one opens up into the performance space. The projections along with XANA’s soundscape, created both off and on stage, create enough visual and aural stimulus to bulk out a show that is essentially stripped back storytelling.
Kicking off their comeback season with a new play that in style and content looks back at the earliest theatrical traditions is a bold move and it is great to be back watching new diverse theatre that the Young Vic’s program prides itself on.
As Ben Okri states in the programme: “There seems to have been concerted attempts to separate ancient Egypt from Africa”.
I believe plays like Changing Destiny will certainly help to educate and redress the balance. The Young Vic’s decisions to introduce digital programmes and continue mask wearing are welcome to help us on the road back to profitable theatre, allowing us to have a full experience whilst mitigating risk.
Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 8LZ until 21st August. Times: Mon – Sat: 7.30pm; Wed & Sat matinees: 2.30pm. Admission: £10 – £43. Box Office: www.youngvic.org
Photos: Marc Brenner.
