“Salome”, as performed by the 1009arts group, is a feminist, revisionist take on an already semi-apocryphal biblical story. With an artfully effective but beautiful set, it is a more humorous, secular, and politically savvy take on what is usually a more black-and-white morality play.
Certain gospels in the Bible tell the story of a princess who performed a dance for King Herod, and as a reward for her efforts she requested the beheading the prophet John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus. The reasons for requesting the head have been varied throughout the years, as have the depictions of the princess, who was identified as Salome by the scholar Josephus. Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss depicted her as a hedonistic seductress, a Lolita/nymph of sorts; while others have depicted her as a pawn of others’ machinations, such as relatives (like her mother) who wanted to punish John the Baptist for besmirching their names, reputations, and relationships.
In this interpretation, Salome is a little older, wiser, a lot more skeptical, and more politically-minded than ever before. Costumes are period accurate for the show with some modern touches, which matches the tone of the overall production. The dialogue can be very dry and sarcastic/sardonic, and while it was occasionally delivered a little stiffly, its context addressed many concerns about modern society. Salome struggles with the indifference of a traditional, patriarchal father, King Herod, who very much embodies the lifestyle of “that’s just the way things have always been done.” Meanwhile, she has deep conversations with the imprisoned John the Baptist, as she attempts to determine whether his preaching and judgmental ways are for the good of her kingdom, or just another form of “thoughts and prayers” that do nothing while her people suffer. The conversations happen with a brilliant use of stage division: one half representing the top of the well, and the other where he is confined at the bottom. A creative and gorgeous rotating centerpiece serves as a throne room as well as well walls demonstrating the continual conflict she has with the two men embodying church and state.
Salome has to use all her wit and wiles to determine what is best for the kingdom. In fact, it could be said this version of the “Dance of the Seven Veils” that she performs for King Herod could be an allusion to another current leader’s unhealthy obsession with his own daughter. Overall, it is an interesting examination and condemnation of both religion and government, and this “Salome” is interpreted in a new light that proves fairly exciting in this modern adaptation.
