Review: GALATEA, Brighton Festival
Photo credit: Holly Revell
“Even the goddess of love can learn…”
When you think of Brighton Festival, you typically think of radical, modern, and inclusive art, so it is rare that 16th-century plays from William Shakespeare’s since forgotten about contemporary John Lyly is the type of theatre that comes to mind…
Nevertheless, Emma Frankland and Subira Joy do an excellent job in bringing the 16th century into the 21st, highlighting the queer celebration of the original story and taking it one step further to bring us an LGBTQ+ love story for the ages! Just like Lyly would have envisioned it, the performance takes place in a purpose-built open-air theatre, of which the second you walk through the gates, you are transported into the ongoing festivities for Neptune Day! With carnival games, food, and drink stalls, and characters roaming around preparing you for the darker twist, you are fully immersed from the beginning and your attention is held throughout. Whilst celebrating Neptune Day, we realise the true meaning behind it, the god Neptune who, like the other gods, walks amongst the mortals looking to sacrifice the fairest maiden whilst the townspeople do what they can to keep their daughters safe, even if that means dressing them as boys and hiding them in the woods. Chaos ensues as Galatea and Phillada meet and toil with their new attractions whilst Cupid runs amok and immigrants find their feet, it is truly a marvel how a story written in 1580 includes such modern issues.
The tale is performed not only through spoken English but also BSL with subtitles being creatively woven into the staging and a BSL interpreter on stage for all spoken sections. It’s rare to hold the attention of an audience throughout a Shakespearean-length monologue but Bea Webster’s (they/them) Hebe fearing for her life delivers a stunningly poignant monologue almost entirely through BSL and captivated everybody in the arena. The entire cast delivers standout performances with Femi Tiwo (they/them) and Macy-Jacob Seelochan (she/they/he) as Galatea and Phillada respectively bear a poignant love story so beautifully heartwarming and gentle whilst Wet Mess’ (they/them) Cupid is charmingly punk and naughty.
This truly is a tale that needs to be seen to be understood, the immersion and community created in such a short time drive this inclusive tale to another level. It allows you to bare witness to ancient words telling the stories of modern questions and ideas and does such a good job at both. Now, of course, it is still Shakespearean-era language and that does leave you a little confused on occasion, especially with certain BSL sections as intonation is left to your imagination and the language is tricky to interpret, nevertheless this is truly wonderful, poignant, and must watch theatre.
A beautifully queer story bringing ancient words to modern issues.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Natalie Pedro
Galatea plays at Adur Recreation Ground as part of Brighton Festival until 21 May, with further information here.