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12-16 February 1994, University Theatre, The Arts Centre
Oscar Wilde wrote his only tragedy SALOME in French and the rather dubious translation is by his young friend and homme fatal Bosie. Banned from the English stage for its religious and sexual content and ridiculed by critics, the play gained some fame outside the British theatre, especially through Aubrey Beardsley's salacious illustrations and through Richard Strauss' operatic German version.
Oscar Wilde himself posed in the costume of Salome for photographs and his play is often seen as a gay fantasy on the old femme fatale myth (as in Ken Russell's filmic version). The prophet Iokanaan, i.e. John the Baptist, as object and victim of Salome's gaze complements the drama of Salome as object and victim of Herod's gaze, and the play is all about looking and being looked at, hiding and unveiling. The first commandment of the Jewish/Christian decalogue forbids the making of sensual images of God, which sets up the fundamental split in our culture between the physical and the spiritual, which is constantly addressed in the play. For a Puritan tradition Salome's dance of the seven veils was a constant provocation and lure alike. One could see the dance of the seven veils as a metaphor for theatre, which like this dance developed or declined from an ancient religious ritual into the voyeuristic tease of stripping in our secularised culture. In this production the many minor roles in the original script are shared so that only seven actors perform. The seven actors each wear one garment comprising a single length of fabric (cloth, veil). The set, which is constructed from steel and glass, was commissioned from Christchurch sculptor Graham Bennett and continues his ongoing concern with perception, reflection, and conjunctions. A full filmed recording of this project exists in the Free Theatre archives. 
ReviewsFrom the striking black-and-gold poster design, to the stunning set, to the actors' passion - all aspects of this production are an impressive success.... The actors interact in, through, and with Graham Bennett's steel and glass set, beautifully illustrating themes of perception and reflection.... clear directorial decisions added new dimensions to the script, without sanitising it at all. Salome's dance of the seven veils, traditionally a striptease, is completely subverted, while still maintaining its beauty and power. Ruth McLean deserves special mention in this role - one that Madonna would kill for! 
Peter Falkenberg is a courageous and uninhibited director. Under his influence the cast of Salome were similarly inclined so that this intense production presented unselfconsciously. Falkenberg here concentrated on the visuals, taking the text as a starting point only. And what visuals. Five huge one dimensional steel diamonds, partly mirrored, provided the central thesis, and these were climbed, lain over, rotated and used constantly to add levels and focus the action. The result is art theatre, challenging to look at, imaginative and alienatory. The ensemble cast performed with skill and discipline. The set, the sound, the lighting were integral and pointed. The dance of the seven veils was not the preserve of Salome alone but involved almost the whole cast. This wholly admirable director's theatre might be described as soulless, but in two and a quarter hours without an interval no murmur of discomfort was heard from the rapt audience. 
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Falkenberg's interpretation of Salome's dance of the seven veils makes it quite clear that she is not to be regarded as some "Boogie Down Dancer." The actors all give admirably polished performances. Ruth McLean in the title role is exquisite. Her Salome is a biblical Brenda Walsh gone monstrously wrong.
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