The refined space of Riverside’s theater has yet again been transformed into an ethereal playing field. This time, the space is intended to invite the audience into a time between ancient Greece and the present.
Adam Knight, the director of “The Cure at Troy,” and his crew have constructed this world to be open to all levels of knowledge that may vary within the audience.
“The text is so beautiful and there are so many amazing ideas and stuff being channeled through. I truly cannot wait for people to see it,” Mike Worth, the actor playing Neoptolemus, said.
Jagged tapestries were cut and hung on the walls, illustrating an idea of a time that is not linear, but rather cyclical. This, compounded with the beautiful scenic design, means the viewer instantly knows where they are when they step into the space, but never the period.
Kaelen Novak’s scenic design is a dream in itself, complemented by Haven Haywood’s lighting and Dakota Parobek’s sound design. The interweaving between all three elements is crafted so wonderfully, audiences are sure to be left wanting more.
“Even though you may not know who these people are outside the context of this story, that everything makes sense, everyone’s motivations make sense in this contained environment,” Worth said.
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The actors work as a guiding light through a prose-like story that Seamus Hanley, the playwright, illustrates with vigor. The verse-like script drips from the actors’ lips like honey.
“Seamus Haney is one of the best poets of the last hundred years…This [play] has that almost old English weighed and visceral to it that makes me feel like I’m encountering something that lives in the core of our language,” Knight said.
With this genre of work — intimate and otherworldly — Riverside’s compact theater is just the place to experience such a work as Haney’s. Iowa City is known to be a hotspot for the arts in Iowa, and with this art comes activism. Knight said the play perfectly captures the current moment while still having evergreen elements.
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“It was pretty obvious when we were planning the season last spring that no matter what happened with the election, this was going to be a time of big questions, questions about where are we going as a society. Where are we going as a democracy? Athens, at the time of the play, was asking those same questions. It was the world’s first democracy,” Knight said.
The lasting impression of Riverside’s “The Cure at Troy” will leave you changed and wanting more, the message will move audiences to think deeper about themselves and the world around them.
“This show in itself is really about healing and what it means to be healed…I think everyone could use a little bit of healing in some way, whatever that means. What I’ve learned through doing this show is that there is something healing about art. And if you can heal yourself, I think there is potential to heal others, and eventually, heal the world around you. That creates a better place,” Worth said.
What audiences are left with is a scene still shrouded in mystery yet touched with a hopeful light. What were previously tattered tarps, now had the potential to be whole and knew once more.
“The Cure at Troy: will be running at Riverside Theatre from Jan. 30 through Feb. 9.
“It’s not the kind of theater that the audience watches from a vast distance,” Knight said. “It’s the theater that really raises emotions and piques my intellect and makes me laugh and all the things.”
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