I spent most of Ben-Hur at Festival Antigonish wondering why Andrea Boyd wanted to program this show, especially this summer. The gist of Patrick Barlow’s adaptation is that he is trying to turn the 1959 epic drama film directed by William Wyler into a Monty Python sketch.
The problem is the story. Set in 26 AD Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish Prince and merchant who lives in Jerusalem, is betrayed by his Roman friend Massala. His crime is being Jewish. He, his mother (Miriam) and sister (Tirzah) are all arrested and enslaved as punishment for not bending to a Roman’s will. Judah’s family also has a slave, who Judah says he loves, but also treats like his property. She is also arrested by Massala. Barlow’s play only works if you are able to distance yourself enough from a story about antisemitism and slavery to be able to find it hilarious.
Barlow treats all the characters and every scenario from the film as though they are ridiculous, but it still feels like, ultimately, he is punching down and making fun of the characters in the story who are the most oppressed and who have the least power. I think there is a way to turn this story into a satire, and at times Barlow gets close to finding it, such as when he makes fun of Lew Wallace, the American who wrote the 550 page novel the film is based on, or the way he animates the story of Christ within the play. But, there isn’t enough here for Ben-Hur to have a clear satirical message. The frame of the play is also problematic. It is set up as a play within a play, Ben-Hur is being presented by the Daniel Vale Theatre Company, adapted and directed and starring Daniel Vale. Vale keeps stopping the play because his cast mate, Crystal, who he went on one date with, was kissing the actor playing Massala backstage. So, essentially, a white man not only continually refuses to do his job, but also impedes a female co-worker’s ability to do her job, all because she doesn’t want to go out with him. This is such a tired cliche, I can’t believe that anyone found it amusing in 2015; but given all that has happened in popular culture since then, these jokes might as well have been written in 1959. They feel so dated and frustrating.
The cast of Ben-Hur is trying so hard to find the playfulness and the heart in this play, but the writing makes both nearly impossible. Especially this summer, with children in Concentration Camps in the United States and the literal return of the Nazis, it feels so counterintuitive to spend an evening trying to dispel all feelings of empathy for Judah, Esther, Miriam, and Tirzah and to choose to laugh at them instead. Frankly, it feels wrong. I wish that Henricus Gielis and the rest of the cast had been given the opportunity to improvise their own adaptation to this film. I’m sure it would have been far more entertaining and much more grounded in 2019’s sensibilities.
Ben-Hur plays on select dates now through August 24th, 2019 at Festival Antigonish (5015 Chapel Square, Antigonish). For more information and to buy tickets visit this website or call the Box Office at 902.867.3333.
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