The Suppliant Women: Northern Stage, Newcastle

ON a stage stripped of scenery with a simple breeze-block floor, 17 locally-recruited women are assembled for this Actors Touring Company and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh co-production. As per ancient tradition, the performance can’t go ahead until an ancient custom has been performed to pay respect to those who have made it all possible. A full bottle of Dionysian wine is poured across the front of the stage and the show can begin.

The women, who represent the 50 daughters of Danaus, have left everything behind in their North African homeland boarding a boat to escape forced marriage to seek asylum and protection in Greece.

Sounds quite familiar, doesn’t it? Except this is a 2,500-year-old play written by the great ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. Adapted by David Greig and sympathetically directed by Ramin Gray, The Suppliant Women is one of the world’s oldest plays.

The women speak a tsunami of the most beautiful poetry and they move as one in a well-drilled, almost tribal fashion. Expertly choreographed by Sasha Milavic Davies, the young women, in full feminist protest, are arguing for their survival.

The haunting, music score, composed by John Browne, is intercepted with furious clapping, chanting and wailing and Ben Burton’s percussive performance is nothing short of brilliant. He’s accompanied by an amazing Callum Armstrong on an ancient twin-pipe instrument called an aulos. which makes a sound like bagpipes combined with the drone of Middle Eastern music.

This is theatre that looks at who we are, where we belong and if it all goes wrong, who will take us in?

* Runs until Saturday, November 5. Box Office: 0191-230-5151 or northernstage.co.uk

Helen Brown