The Love of the Nightingale
by Timberlake Wertenbaker,
based on the myth of Philomela by Ovid
An explosive mixture of ethics, politics and feminism
In The Love of the Nightingale, playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker uses Ovid’s ancient tale of transformation to demonstrate the violence that stems from enforced silence. Philomele and her sister, Procne, are both royal Athenian daughters. When Athens is aided by Thrace in a war, Procne is married off to its king, Tereus. Procne longs to see Philomele again, so she sends Tereus to bring her for a visit. Tereus rapes Philomele on the voyage to Thrace, later cutting out her tongue to silence her accusations. Philomele manages, however, to make her tragedy known and she and Procne bring to bear a shocking revenge on Tereus.
“Listen. This is the noise of myth. It makes the same sound as shadow. Can you hear it?”
November 19 & 20, 2009 at 7:30pm
December 1 – 5, 2009 at 7:30pm
December 6, 2009 at 2pm
Gladys G. Davis Theatre
WVU Creative Arts Center
Nightingale Press Release
The Love of the Nightingale, by Timberlake Wertenbaker, arguably the most famous violent incest narrative in western drama, is an adaptation of the ancient Greek myth of Philomela. It is an explosive mixture of ethics, politics and feminism. The play takes an uncompromising look at the issue of voice and power: who speaks, and for whom; who is heard and who is silenced. Wertenbacker writes that: “myth is the oblique image of an unwanted truth reverberating through time.” This myth is about human nature and things about ourselves that we would probably like to forget.
While the play deals with an ancient myth, it is by no means a story without meaning for today’s audience. The play tells of the brutal rape of Philomela by her brother-in-law Tereus, and the sisterly love that enables Philomela and her sister Procne to enact their devastating revenge. Philomele is silenced both physically and mentally by acts of violence that are carried out in the name of love. The responsibility of onlookers in tragedy is explored through a traditional chorus that commentates throughout the production. The male chorus never becomes explicitly involved in the action of the play, but rather behaves like “embedded reporters” removed enough from the action to comment upon it but never empowered to intervene.
The female chorus consists of the women of the northern city of Thrace, who are integral to the play’s action, but who also seem incapable of affecting the outcome of events that are deemed inescapable. While the sisters are reunited through a magical ending, there are no easy answers given for questions of justice and accountability. A dark meditation on violence and its legacies, Nightingale is also about “love”, language and loss that ultimately queries what kind of world we will pass on to our children.
The Love of the Nightingale opens November 19 and runs November 20, December 1 – 5, at 7:30pm and a Matinee performance December 6 at 2pm in the Gladys G. Davis Theatre, WVU Creative Arts Center. For tickets call: 304-293-SHOW (7469).
Get tickets!
Tickets for may be purchased by calling (304) 293-SHOW or visiting the WVU Box Offices at the Mountainlair and the Creative Arts Center. They are also available through Ticketmaster outlets, or by visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 senior citizens and WVU faculty and staff, and $10 WVU students with ID.
Buy tickets online.
(extra fees apply)
