A Song for Ella Grey – Modern Orpheus Myth Retold: Pilot Theatre’s Ambitious Tale of Love and Grief Earns Four Stars

The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is a classic with Greek Mythology enthusiasts as it is a deep and dark romantic tale that sings of: the madness of youth, the ache of love, and the near-impossibility of grasping death. 

This new production, from Pilot Theatre, delivered an adaptation that in the most parts worked however at some points left the audience confused. Their retelling focused more upon the themes of friendship, jealousy and grief in an attempt to capture the interests of a new audience, especially students studying this text for A Level. 

Eurydice was renamed, Ella Grey (Grace Long) who with her friends are highly stressed about their impending exams – in particular, English Literature therefore as every student does, they decide to hold a party… at the beach. Enter Orpheus, who entrances the groups, especially Ella which ultimately results in her death. Dramatic! 

This was a magical retelling of the Orpheus myth, full of music, and creative storytelling which concentrated on the five stages of grief, (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Bereft and Acceptance) and how each character deals with the stages in their own way on their journey to accepting the loss of Ella.

All five actors gave a sterling performance and doubled up as other characters when needed. Cast: Grace Long, Olivia Onyehara, Amonik Melaco, Jonathan Iceton, and Beth Crane.

The transformation into Ella’s parents was swift and believable via simply adding an old cardigan or flat cap to portray the anxious, grief stricken couple, full of anger which was directed towards Ella’s best friend Claire. This was particularly engaging to watch as the performance was realistically harrowing.

This was a well written play (Zoe Cooper) with good acting. The set design was simplistic yet effective.

Rating:  * * * * Stars