Friedrich-Alexander-University

Red Bull Theater’s Sardanapalus & Global Watch Party Review

By Mona Kammer

29th October, 4pm local time at the Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen, Germany. A group of about 10 people – students, professors and lecturers – come together to join the global watch party of Lord Byron’s Sardanapalus. The seminar room is cozy, sound and projector (finally) work, and the sun is setting outside. Most of us have read the play before but for some the screening will be their very first impression of Byron’s work. We follow the reading intently, some read along and make notes, others are just watching, fully absorbed by the screen and the actors on stage. Once finished it is already dark outside. Now the discussion begins. 

We wondered about the performance as such, admiring the actors, and discussed differences between classic theatre performances and a stage reading. We agreed that some scenes in which the actors spoke more freely, looked at each other or touched and used props such as the cup and the mirror felt more active. However, the voices and the body language of the actors were so impressive that we all gained a deeper understanding of the play, and some commented that listening to it was funnier than reading it silently. Especially the character of Salemenes appeared more likeable, maybe even comic, in the reading.

Another aspect we discussed concerned the ‘qualities of a king’. Is it better for a king to be loved or hated? What are good or bad qualities a king should have, and Sardanapalus in particular? He appears as a pacifist, a hedonist, a dandy, they call him “she king”. Nevertheless, as the play continues, he cannot keep up his pacifism; to protect his rule, he has to join the battle. Trying to uphold his dandyish attitude, he refuses the helmet, endangering himself and all soldiers around him during the fight. He barely listens to the advice of Salemenes, yet still, when he acts kindly, he wins over some of the people that have actively opposed and attacked him, such as Arabaces (at least for a short time) and the Herald in the end, and even his wife Zarina and his lover Myrrha. Somehow, the characters cannot help it, they love him, like the women, or they side with him and start to respect him against their better judgement, like Arabeces and the Herald.

Last but not least, we talked about symbols in the play. Why did the director choose to have the cup as one of the few props on stage? Why not a sword? Why is there a crown of flowers but no other and no helmet? Why was the mirror so small? (Practicality and the effect as an ironic element were our suggestions.) What role does religion have in the play and how are symbols such as the sun (Asyrian) and thunder (Greek) opposed to each other? Are thunder and the approaching flood markers of fate? They could be foretelling the doom of the kingdom. In the end, thunder and flood are countered by fire. Sardanapalus dies according to his beliefs, in the fashion of a ‘heroic king’, one might say. He chooses the fire, enriched with spices and built up in the safe and still luxurious environment of his palace, over the death on the battlefield. Maybe he dies as he chose to live, dramatically and extravagantly, if not peacefully.

We were very happy to join the watch party and are thankful to all included in the organisation! Thank you!