As a visual and auditory spectacle, Gesher’s production of Salomé at the Theatre Royal Haymarket is stunning, but this, like the gaze of Salomé herself, comes at a price as the production’s ability to convey the psychological motivations of the characters suffers.
Welcome to a world where leaders sit in their ivory towers on wealth earned through the misery of others, where religious beliefs are twisted to maintain power, and where desire and greed run rampant and political manipulation controls the masses. Sounds a lot like our world today, doesn’t it? Yet the world I am talking about is Judea in the first century AD, where Herod the Tetrarch rules and Julius Caesar manages Judea’s public affairs from a distance.
This is a world where John the Baptist speaks of a new messenger from God from his prison cell – his words rippling through society before becoming waves that engulf the Tetrarch, his wife, Herodias, who was once married to his brother, and his daughter Salomé. It is a world where the Tetrarch’s young daughter dances for her father’s sexual titillation and a world where “One should not look at anything. Neither at things, nor at people.”
Oscar Wilde’s provocative, sexually charged, and poetic play, based on the biblical story of Salomé, began its life in 1891, while Wilde was living in Paris. However, Wilde would not see his play premiere on a Paris stage in 1896, as he was imprisoned for gross indecency in England. Upon his release from prison in May 1897, he was bankrupt, with his writing career in tatters. He spent his remaining years in exile in France under the pseudonym Sebastian Melmoth. Wilde died in 1900, just as the popularity of Salomé grew across Europe, particularly in Germany and France. However, here in Britain, Salomé would not reach the stage until 1905 at The Bijou Theatre in Bayswater.
Out of all Wilde’s plays, it remains the only one written in French, with its richly stylised, poetic and dreamlike atmosphere echoing the work of Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. Yet Salomé was also quintessentially Wilde in its exploration of power, corruption, lust, desire, and the psychological underpinnings of each—a story in which every character is both a perpetrator and a victim of violence. Perhaps that is why it continues to enthral audiences today, as it speaks to timeless human behaviours, desires, and emotions that endure through the ages.
There is no doubt that the world-famous Gesher Theatre’s new adaptation of Wilde’s Salomé, directed by Maxim Didenko, understands the universality of the themes and conversations held in Wilde’s work, as it attempts to further engage its audience in his words through richly crafted set design, a stunning musical score by Louis Lebée, and truly sublime performances from a small ensemble cast. However, while Gesher’s Salomé is visually enticing, note-perfect, and engaging, there is also something missing in its translation of Wilde’s seductive and daring words: psychological motive and emotional attachment. Too often, Gesher’s production feels oddly cold to the rich complexity and political meaning of Wilde’s words, and the staging, despite its visual beauty, contributes to this problem.
With a brash, over-the-top aesthetic as fruit is flung, water splashed, and wine sprayed, the staging too often distracts from the words. That’s not to say the performances are not exquisite, as they are, and there are moments where Salomé finds Wilde’s voice, as the staging takes a backseat to the exceptional performances. From Salomé’s first volatile and uneasy meeting with Jokanaan, played brilliantly by Shir Sayag, to the fabulous Tavori’s Herod begging Salomé, played by the entrancing Neta Roth, to reconsider her request to behead Jokanaan and Salomé’s final bloody dance with the prophet’s head, these are the moments that allow the audience to connect fully with the words of Wilde’s tricky play without undue distraction.
As a visual and auditory spectacle, Gesher’s Salomé is stunning, but this, like the gaze of Salomé herself, comes at a price as the production’s ability to convey the psychological motivations of the characters suffers. Salomé has never been the easiest play to adapt, nor has it been one that all audiences find engaging. However, with a tad more risk, a bit less glamour, and more intimate staging, Gesher’s production could have been magnificent. It’s a shame the spectacle never quite captures the power of Wilde’s words.
Salomé is playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until October 11. Book Tickets.
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