Ophiolite Review – A Family at War Over the Patriarch’s Death Wishes | stage

AAncient Greek literature is full of disputed burials, as one character in Philip de Funi’s play points out. There is a story at the heart of this play as well, about the power struggle and cultural clash in a mixed Cypriot-British family after the death of its patriarch.

In 2009, in Nicosia, Aristia (Lucy Christophe Christie) insists on burying her late brother in the Cypriot mountains, a practice that goes back generations. But his British wife, Jennifer (Ruth Lass), demands that her late husband’s body be transported to England, as was his dying wish, she claims. So Aristea’s strong sense of sacred tradition conflicts with Jennifer’s arguments about freedom from cultural rituals that her husband did not appreciate. Both are trying to appeal to the younger generation: Jennifer’s daughter, Penelope (Han-Rose Adonis), and Aristia’s niece, Xenia (Chrysanthe Livadiotis).

The backdrop is one of more public sacrilege – we hear that the buried body of former President Tassos Papadopoulos has been stolen. The legacy of British colonial rule also looms among the warring women.

It is a highly charged drama, with echoes of Antigone and a confrontation between Guinevere and Aristea during the reading of the last will and testament. But it doesn’t quite work that way. De Funi’s debut play is ambitious, weaving together big, innovative ideas about our ownership of the dead and the intersection of belonging, culture, and land. But you don’t feel the force of these ideas, and the characters are weakly constructed. Some of them are barely there, like Jennifer’s second husband, Dominic (Sam Cox), who is little more than a plot device.

Meanwhile, Penelope carries echoes of Odysseus’s patient wife, whom he left behind for his adventures. She feels her own sense of abandonment by her parents and that slowly becomes her story, along with her mother’s responsibility and guilt, but you never feel as much for her or any of the characters, as you should.

Directed by Kerry Kyriakos Michael on Corey Shipp’s stark stage set, some scenes are poignant, particularly the clashes between mother and daughter, and Jennifer and Dominique’s discussions of love, death, and togetherness. There are some skillfully written scenes, full of complex emotions, but the actors don’t quite do them justice.

The soupy musical interjections don’t help, they frankly dictate mood changes to give the drama the sound of a TV melodrama. This play excels in the seamless connection between the ancient and the modern. It’s a shame that it seems so rigid and ponderous, and that there’s a lot of discussion of ideas. Over two hours, the play’s pace and intensity eventually wane.