On Thursday 24th October, members of By Jove performed scenes from the developing Orestes Project at the launch of a new research centre at the Open University, Gender and Otherness in the Humanities (GOTH). By Jove’s Christine Plastow is a founding member of the research centre, which seeks to support and share research into the relationship between gender and otherness throughout time and across the Arts and Humanities.
The GOTH Launch opened with comments from GOTH Director Peg Katritzky, who talked about her experiences throughout her career of being inspired by the funding successes of others and wanting to pursue such opportunities to support her own interests.
After this, By Jove took the floor and performed a collection of scenes that combined work from our R&D week in July with new scenes. Due to the particular focus of the research centre on the intersections of gender with different kinds of otherness, we chose to focus the scenes we presented on the sisters Electra and Iphigenia, and their relationships with themselves and others. We continued to explore Iphigenia’s relationship with the goddess Artemis, and her statue, giving her more time alone to speak to her unanswering lover and exploring the anguish of the lack of reciprocity in their relationship more deeply. Electra was given more space to wrestle with the chains of her mother’s legacy, as well as to experience the love and conflict she shares with her brother Orestes. We also staged for the first time a scene of the two sisters together, which illustrated clearly how the aftereffects of trauma have left these two women too deep in their own problems to be able to help each other, despite being natural allies. We were accompanied by our frequent musical collaborator Vivienne Youel, who was also able to showcase new material, particularly new soundscapes for Electra and the sisters together.
Performing at the Open University.
The performance was well-received by audiences, who were particularly impressed with the presentation of such quiet, intimate scenes in the rather sterile space of a library seminar room under fluorescent lights. Our performance was followed and complemented by one by student actors from the University of Hull, who presented The Amazonians, an extract from Aphra Behn’s The Young King, or The Mistake that included tragicomic scenes of female warriors and mistaken identities. The evening was closed out with a wine reception and celebration of the new research centre.
By Jove were really pleased to be able to take part in this event for a research centre that promotes exactly the kind of work we’re interested in. You can find out more about GOTH’s work here.
