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Odysseus Unwound

Published Friday 17 November 2006 at 17:35 by Natalie Anglesey

The correlation between knitting and opera may seem a tenuous one but think Shetland and Greek Islands and Tete a Tete’s original idea of combining the two locations for the tale of Odysseus may start to make sense.

The relentless clicking of knitting needles by a group of Shetland artisans links the various scenes as they sit, like the Fates, spinning and snipping the wool which becomes ropes, sails and even a pigsty while even oars become giant knitting needles.

Julian Grant’s lyrical score has a timeless quality superbly played by the excellent Chroma Chamber Ensemble, who also sit on stage. Hattie Naylor’s libretto cleverly mixes ancient and modern verse, interweaving the classical story with knitting patterns, which sounds bizarre but strangely doesn’t seem out of place.

Daniel Broad, with his rich baritone and good looks, is every inch the classical hero - but this Odysseus is only seen through the eyes of his women. Is he a hero or a war criminal?

Excellent performances from Phyllis Cannan as Hecuba, Sadhbh Dennedy as Nausica and Monica Brett-Crowther as Circe include a sex scene reminiscent of Basic Instinct.

Director Bill Bankes-Jones left the house lights up during the first act so the audience could read the poetry but eventually they were dimmed while the musicians intermingled with the cast.

This accessible production is to be applauded for combining an impressive array of talent in an original format which was enormously entertaining.

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