Eurydice: A journey into the Underworld at The Mill
Earlier this month, I visited The Mill Theatre for the first time to see a production of Eurydice, directed by Amy Kowalczuk. In this brisk sixty minute performance, playwright Sarah Ruhl reimagines the myth of Orpheus, this time told through the eyes of Eurydice, his young wife who tragically dies on her wedding day. We journey with Eurydice into the underworld where she is reunited with her dead father. Supported by this connection, Eurydice begins to remember the love she had for her husband Orpheus who travels to the underworld to find her.
Specifically written with production elements in mind, Ruhl's play is dynamic, drawing on set, lighting, costume and sound to create an immersive world. Intrinsic to this particular production however, is the use of movement and embodiment, with movement director Michelle Norris bringing her experience as a contemporary dancer and collaborator to the production team.
Michelle and I grew up together, and given my own work investigating the intersection of movement and text, I was excited to understand more about Michelle’s approach to Eurydice and working with the cast.
Emma: What drew you to Euridyce?
Michelle: The text is so richly poetic and already pulls the audience toward the absurd and impossible. This creates a really exciting context to develop creative and fun approaches to the work and especially to play with the bleeding of different art forms.
E: What do you feel this play has to offer audiences today?
M: This play is centred on love, the eternal and enduring nature of it, both between lovers and between a parent and child. This love then becomes the frame through which the audience can explore themes of death, loss, memory, grief and hope.
In Australia today, as we move away from widespread religion as a foundation for our “culture”, we can struggle to discuss death. We no longer have the strong beliefs or ceremonies that have supported these discussions in the past or even currently in other parts of the world. Death is often the unspoken part of life and yet its greatest inevitability.
I think modern Australian audiences will be struck by the chance this play offers to reflect on the process of death, memory and time with loved ones and what that can mean.
E: Tell me a little about each of your creative process?
M: As movement director I begin with reading the play looking for particularly evocative text or scenes, which spark inspiration for images. I then work with the actors to create these images with their bodies, weaving them into the beautiful acting that is facilitated by Amy [Kowalczuk].
In a play like Eurydice we have such freedom and the capacity to create a whole new world so we are not bound by the characters needing to move in a “normal” way. The movement can be incorporated into the scenes themselves.
E: What was it like collaborating with the actors?
M: I am so very impressed by the amazing actors and their bravery to move deeply into their bodies, and even at times putting their bodies on the line to explore an entirely different way to express the journey and emotions of their character. They have across the board been creative, committed and brave.
E: The space is very special, tell me about the world you wanted to create?
M: We were very interested in the potential to show both worlds simultaneously, and how the energy and vibrations of one world might impact the other. The height of the space at The Mill offered us a chance to explore the living world as sitting above and underworld, which has provided so much potential for finding moments where the connections between worlds can begin to blur.
And then, within the underworld, this play doesn’t deliver the expected! This is hinted at in the text and we have stretched it further playing with a feeling of ‘unreality’.
Eurydice
📍 The Mill Theatre
📆 Closes Saturday 14 December