University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Red Bull Theater’s Sardanapalus & Global Watch Party Review
By Almudena Jiménez Virosta
On Monday, October 28, 2024, the Spanish Department of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) hosted a viewing party for Lord Byron’s Sardanapalus as part of the global event organised by the Keats-Shelley Association of America.
Instructors, friends, and students from the Spanish, English, Italian, and Classics Departments gathered to watch online this compelling adaptation by the Red Bull Theater, which we followed with an informal conversation on World Literature. Taking the presence of Sardanapalus in Hispanic literature and Lord Byron’s influence on its dissemination as starting points, we examined how Sardanapalus’s character evolved to reflect each era’s cultural and political needs. We first observed how Golden Age Spanish texts linked Sardanapalus to effeminacy and decline, which some viewed as symbolic of the reasons behind the fall of the Spanish Empire. Next, we explored a Romantic reinterpretation by Puerto Rican writer Alejandro Tapia y Rivera–strongly influenced by Byron–who shifted this perspective by portraying the Assyrian king as a vehicle for exploring power dynamics and moral ambiguity, making it thus resonate with the political struggles of 19th-century Latin America. Finally, we turned to Lorca, who, in 1929–a year marked by global crisis but also personal liberation–appears to have adopted Byron’s vision, reimagining Sardanapalus as a symbol of alternative forms of identity and expression regarding both the political and the sexual realms.
Professor Thomas Schmidt, from our Department of Classical Philology, contributed with a particularly insightful observation by noting that Sardanapalus was traditionally depicted in classical antiquity as a bleak and pessimistic figure, often characterised as the epitome of decadence and misrule. His remarks aligned with the account of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, as highlighted by Peter Cochran in his annotated edition of Byron’s play. This led us to reflect on how Byron’s Sardanapalus not only departed significantly from this classical vision but also marked an organic evolution in the character’s development into such a layered figure. These discussions naturally led students to examine the political context of Europe during Byron’s time, from which we delved into related topics, such as the Peninsula Wars and the city of Ravenna’s role as a focal point of cultural and literary influence across the years.
Furthermore, students mentioned that, while they had anticipated a contemporary adaptation, they were surprised by the Red Bull Theater’s choice to perform a dramatic reading, with loosely colour-coordinated costumes and minimal props used to identify characters and situate the action in time–such as Sardanapalus’s crown of flowers. We found that this minimalist staging captured the reflective essence of Romantic closet drama, which, although intended to disrupt the inherent sociality of theatre, at least in this production, helped alleviate that sense of detachment instead. Indeed, we all agreed that experiencing the reading collectively–both in class and remotely with over a hundred other institutions worldwide–made us feel more connected. Watching and laughing together intensified the action, here ironically subordinated to the extraordinary language with which Byron crafted dialogues and parliaments: a perception that could stand in contrast to his assertion in the Preface to the work that, in it, ‘there may be poetry, but can be no drama’. The dynamic energy and humour infused into certain dialogues had us chuckling and smiling throughout entire scenes, which added an unexpected depth to the sombre tone that many said to have anticipated. Not to mention how genuinely impressed we were that such a powerful and expressive staging could be achieved with only five hours of rehearsal on the same day (!).
On behalf of the Spanish Department of the University of Fribourg and as the main organiser of the event, I would like to express my gratitude to Omar Miranda and the Keats-Shelley Association of America for making this possible, to my colleagues in the Classics, Italian, English, and Comparative Literature departments at Fribourg for their support in promoting it among students, and to all the friends outside our institution for their help in spreading the word. A special thank you goes to my colleague Sebastian Imoberdorf for his unwavering support, and to the Spanish Student Association (Fachschaft Spanisch) for providing the apéro that accompanied our discussion. I am particularly grateful to Laurina C., Lena M., Enrique M., and Lorena B. for their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn!
