Six Greek tragedies in four hours, told through the medium of Dutch Doom Metal? Ivo van Hove must be in town. And given
what he deposited on the stage the last time he was here, that's not necessarily the most reassuring thought, but at least
Age of Rage comes to the Barbican courtesy of van Hove's regular ensemble at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, with the promise of following in the footsteps of past epics like
Roman Tragedies and
Kings of War. In fact, now that Robert Icke has joined the company as a resident director, with shows like
The Doctor joining their repertoire, it's surprising that this show was created instead of Icke's
Oresteia doing likewise, because in terms of story if not style,
Age of Rage follows the same cycle of Greek mythology: The Oresteia, but expanded to take in the beginning of the family feud with the sacrifice of
Iphigenia in Aulis.
