Winchester News Online
Yerma: A tragic exploration of the female experience
How far would you go to save a child? Or the desire of having a child?
Federico García Lorca’s Yerma deals with this moral tragedy as the titular character falls down a rabbit hole of not being able to conceive with her husband, originally published in 1934 and adapted by the National Theatre in 2017 it delivers a contemporary take on the narrative in a world dominated not so much by the nuclear family and religion but rather class and earthly desires imagining Yerma as a journalist in the modern era.
The play utilises Greek theatre stylisations such as a chorus that breaks the narrative apart into vignettes broken apart by title cards, and Brecht’s epic theatre utilising a clean stage with minimal props allowing the stage in a quasi thrust staging (with the audience on the north and south of the stage).
The lighting utilises harsh shadows and the empty staging allows for the stage to become the mental headspace for the characters, such as when the fluffy pure white carpet is replaced by darkened grass and finally by trodden down dirt as rain envelops the stage as Yerma sinks to her lowest point.
The deeply difficult role of Yerma is played by Billie Piper (of Doctor Who fame) and delivers a masterful performance truly capturing Yerma’s tragedy as a woman weighed down by religion as she calls to attention in the west that mother Mary is the ambition proposed for all women to be pure even in pregnancy that the immaculate conception is what’s to be expected “that’s what happened wasn’t it? I don’t even know what a c*ck is and yet I’m pregnant”.
Society as she faces the ever increasing pressure to have a child, her sister has one and a miscarriage which Yerma writes about in her online blog in an act of sadistic lashing out at all women who can conceive, her ex-partner has one and she had an abortion with him and yet she cannot conceive with her husband.
Yerma is also scarred with the troubles of her relationship with her family. We do not see her father at any point in the piece and her mother is a cold figure who even in her old age is still consumed by her work being visibly uncomfortable to hug Yerma in a scene where she asks why her mother never held her.
And finally her own biology as she screams at her husband: “I can’t, my body won’t allow me”.
And when it all collapses she yells :“You didn’t believe in it, you never wanted a child with me.”
As the play reaches a fever pitch, the surrealist imagery intensifies actors resemble themselves and represent different people, Piper meets in a drug fuelled festival sex-fest as she confronts her past demons and the reality that she cannot have a child, which brings to attention arguably the most revolutionary part of Lorca’s play, that the central tragedy of this play is a woman in a situation that a man (the very much dominant part of the audience and arguably still to this day) cannot understand.
Much like Yerma’s husband, men are pulling at emotions, hormones and experiences that they cannot understand as they have not and will not experience them.
Yerma falls further and further into a depression for a baby that isn’t real or likely to ever come (a pre-natal depression) and when pushed to its extreme the nuclear family setup collapses under the pressure of biological differences.
It is not too far to propose that Greek theatre stylisations are a deliberate choice to remind the contemporary audience that although Yerma is now a tragic hero post-feminist movement where women’s issues and voices are finally beginning to be centralised in the discussion of women themselves it is highly likely that in the 30s Yerma would have been seen as a traditional Greek tragedy woman; overexaggerated, crazy and ungrounded (much like Medea who is viewed as the crazy one in traditional interpretations of the narrative in that play).
And as Piper lays down broken, divorced, alone, no job, no home, no friends she makes a last-ditch effort to find the peace she has been desiring.
Stabbing herself in the chest. Small murmurs of “I’m coming to join you now I suppose…. My son…. My daughter” in a change to the original narrative where she strangles her husband evokes a much more visceral and tragic ending to Yerma’s story.
I left Yerma sitting in my chair for nearing on half an hour with my heart weighing heavy for Yerma in the concept that another performance of this play means that she must go through this again, as ‘au pays du cocaine’ by geese and ‘sienna’ by the Marias played to keep me in the headspace I was in I reflected on my experience as a man in a world that is catered to my every need and built for my succeeding to truly grasp a piece of the female experience and the pressure that I will never understand or comprehend, which leads figures like Medea, Yerma and all the women in the crucible to have been viewed as villains rather than realistic depictions of women pushed to their brinks breaking the theatrical norm which only allows men that grace.
The first half of the season has been a good combination of good showing that is close. The Harriers are doing well, but they realize they have to do better going forward to get further up the track. And with a handful of key games in the pipeline, the second half of the season will be the deciding factor in whether they can convert effort into yet another win.
On the sidelines, the club is readying for changes. After ten seasons at Oasis Academy, the Hampshire Harriers will shift to Apple More Health and Leisure in Dibden to play games as funding for the team increases and costs climb.
The squad remains focused on performance despite difficulties they may face on the court or off it. “We’ve played really well, even in the matches we lost this season,” said club representative David Morgan. “We have produced good numbers and we have that to give us hope. Some days, we’ve just been getting close (tied up) and things haven’t gone our way. We also will be moving to Apple More Health and Leisure in Dibden, which we will have to get used to. The biggest thing is that we keep our heads, we stay together, and we go through it as a team. If we work hard and remain unified the results will come.”
The venue at Oasis Academy has been a significant contributor to the Harriers’ growth over the last 10 years. It’s also given them stability and a good local presence. While this is the close of a lengthy chapter the club will continue its quest for further progression and play both on and off the playing floor.
The Harriers expect a good run into the next half of the season as they near critical moments. As that stage of the season comes in, they want the season to continue on well. And whatever obstacles lie in the way they just want to end their fight and finish up the campaign well powered through.
What do fireworks and iguanas from Costa Rica have in common?
Within the cork-bored walls of a Church hosted an Iris tucked delicately next to a divine landmark of Winchester.
Or maybe you might prefer the TV display with an elderly man thinking whether ‘to smile or not to smile’, or the Sandhurst Passing Out Parade.
With a white dahlia and friendly faces that were willing to greet you at the door.
From DSLRs to the cameras we keep in our pockets, this was the magic that was The Bishops Waltham Photography Society’s annual exhibition.
Boasting around 55 members, from ‘seasoned amateurs’ to those with newly bought cameras, the showcase has been running for 13 years, and is consistently held in the United Church.
The society, starting in 2008, was created by a small group of people who wished to share their passion for the life behind the lens with those in the local area.
For those under 16, do not fret, as the society also hosts a Junior Competition for those living within the local parishes. Those who were placed received a certificate from the Mayor of Winchester.
If you enjoyed a particular photograph, for example, the macro shots of black and white beauty which hosted a trio of unforgettable sights, you may liaise with the creator to buy the print. There were also cards for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going back to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
So whether your fancy is taken by the Northern Lights or a red-eyed tree frog, the Bishop’s Watlham Photographic Society Annual exhibition is one to keep on your to-do list.
ITS TIME!!
The festive period is truly upon us.
The Cathedral is the home of Christmas in Winchester, and this year they are branching out their events.
They are no stranger to a Christmas concert, but this year they have arranged their first ever interactive concert.
A Christmas cracker concert – a celebration of music, traditional literature and community, personifying the meaning of Christmas.
Lay Clerk Simon Irwin worked with Reverend Canon Andrew Micklefield worked together to create a night of entertainment, they hosted the event as a duo, creating a new dynamic for the cathedral.
The Christmas Cracker Concert bought a new audience in, people of all ages and faiths, coming together in a moment of reflection in a different perspective to usual.
Many people see the cathedral as simply a home for those who follow the Christian faith, but the cathedral are wanting to welcome more people in to see the beauty within, the Christmas cracker concert steered away from the typical sermon.
With iconic Christmas songs, from Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ to ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and a combined effort to fill the cathedral with a loud rendition of the 12 days of Christmas.
It wasn’t just Christmas songs being bought to life but a reading from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, the Lay Clerks bought to life the Christmas classic.
They were joined also by the Girl Choristers for some more traditional songs, the audience were wowed by the raw talent echoing through the navel of the cathedral.
The evening was a great success with both Simon and Andrew telling me they hoped to host more events like this in the future to welcome in more diverse audiences.
-
Football9 years agoFootball – Winchester City vs Didcot Town
-
Community9 years agoWinnall community association renovated
-
Community8 years ago
Hampshire’s frontline services at risk
-
Hampshire8 years agoUniversity of Winchester Parking Trouble
-
Community8 years ago
Knight Bus unveiled at school
-
Community8 years ago‘Controversial’ new plans take shape in Eastleigh
-
Winchester News Online8 years ago#MiracleMissy Update
-
Bulletins7 years agoWINOL 20 November 2018