We Tiresias, written by Stephen Spotswood and directed by Matt Ripa, is based on the Greek myth of Tiresias, a blind prophet ofT hebes, renowned for his clairvoyance. The story of Tiresias is told through his three forms – the boy (Chris Stinson) representing Tiresias as a youth, the woman (Melissa Marie Hmelnicky) representing the time when Tiresias is transformed into a woman, and the old man (Steve Beall) representing the wise and bitter Tiresias of later years.
As a young boy, Tiresias reveals to his mother that he is clairvoyant. She begs him to keep it a secret because she is worried for his safety and he does until he is a young man and his abilities causes the death of his first love -a priestess marked to serve the God Hera – and forces him to flee his home and his mother. Hera finally catches up with him, and in anger for his defiling of her priestess and his unnatural abilities, turns him into a woman. The transformed Tiresias eventually becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl, Manto. One tragic night, Manto is snatched away from Tiresias who begins and epic journey to find Manto.
I really enjoyed the varied perspectives provided by the boy, the woman, and the old man. Stinson, Hmelnicky, and Beall do an excellent job of drawing the audience into the story and the show does an excellent job of weaving together Tiresias’s story with various Greek tragedies, including Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.
If you’re looking for 70-minutes of great storytelling filled with humor, true love, gods, prophets, tragedy, gouged eyes go see We Tiresias.
LINK
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.