Metamorphoses – Year 10-13 theatre production

Mary Zimmerman’s fabulous, contemporary reworking of some of the myths and stories portrayed in Ovid’s epic poem is written to be set around a pool of water. Many of the stories tell of characters who are changed, transformed or transported in some way by the will of the gods. King Midas is given the fateful ‘golden touch’ whilst Alcyone and Ceyx are turned into seabirds in order to overcome death. In the darkly comedic tale of Erysichthon, he insults the goddess Ceres and, as punishment, is so consumed by Hunger that he ends up eating his own foot; his elderly mother, however, whom he sells to buy food, is changed back to a little girl by Poseidon as a reward.

Our production was full of visual imagery and colour. Each story was told using different techniques: in Pandora’s Box we incorporated movement and contemporary dance to portray the escaped horrors; the tale of Narcissus was communicated through silent comedy; Phaeton told his tale of teenage failure from the psychiatrist’s couch. 

As with all of our productions, many students were involved in the creative process behind the scenes, making and assembling puppets, costumes and props. Many more were involved in the performance itself, working as backstage crew in the wings or tech crew in the control box. 

I absolutely loved working on this production and seeing all of the various production elements come together. I was delighted with the final performances and I am so incredibly proud of all of the performers, the tech crew and the backstage creative team for their amazing work on the show.

I am also incredibly grateful to my incredible department for all their support behind the scenes (both metaphorically and literally!).

Helene Barrell, Head of Drama and Theatre