Review: Dynamic acting buoys Alex Lyras's “Aristotle/Alexander”
- Anita W. Harris
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 15 minutes ago
Though Alexander the Great’s conquests of Persia and part of Asia circa 330 BCE still make him a household name almost anywhere in the world, most of us don’t think about his teachers. Alex Lyras's play “Aristotle/Alexander” explores that influence — Alexander’s mentors here shown to be Aristotle and, in a different way, his mother Olympias — in shaping the 14-year-old Macedonian prince’s mind and heart in a compelling, if slightly overstaged, drama.
Casting choices are excellent, with Nicholas Clary embodying the young hot-headed prince. We first see him play-acting with a wooden sword as he imagines vanquishing enemies just like his hero Achilles. He seems like a goofy boy, which is funny because we know he’ll eventually take over most of the known world.
While background projections help us see what is going in his mind in that moment of imagining, at other times they suggest settings such as an olive grove or the Parthenon in Athens, or provide context such as a map or letters. But the projections can also be distracting or overwhelming, such as showing writhing snakes that seem to be artificially generated as Olympias (Elyse Levesque) performs a ritual involving a snake in a basket.
Otherwise, though, the acting shines in this production. Andrew Byron’s coolly intellectual Aristotle proves a perfect foil to the impulsive and quick-to-anger Alexander. The scenes between the two of them stand out not just for their verbal repartee — with the philosopher trying to impress upon his student the value of reason over emotion while Alexander dismisses such teaching as unnecessary to one destined for greatness — but intense physical conflict as well, with fight coordination by Orion Barnes.
Similarly, Levesque brings a graceful strength to her Olympias, sinuously dancing, mothering Alexander and challenging Aristotle at times, including questioning his weak view of women. We also see her feeding her son’s belief that he is descended from a deity, fostering his desire to rule the world while protecting them both politically and personally from court machinations.
Alexander is so close to her that in one scene he sits at her vanity trying on her jewelry and makeup (made over-the-top amusing with electronic music and colorful lighting) because, he says, Achilles once had to disguise himself as a woman. But we also see him force a kiss upon Aristotle at one point and become confused by his teacher’s recoiling reaction.
In these ways, the play makes overt Alexander’s purported interest in men, but in way we see as natural to his being. The overall portrait that the play paints is of a nascent Alexander before he was “the Great” — still vulnerable and learning like a puppy, but with the qualities of impulsiveness, arrogance and zealousness that historians attribute to him brought to vivid life.
It's an engaging and gripping drama, infused with original music composed by Andreas Fevos on a set designed by Joel Daavid featuring Aristotle’s “lab” strewn with herbs, an in-progress egg experiment, numerous scrolls and an astrolabe.
There is also a subplot involving rival philosopher Isocrates (a gruff John Kapelos) who tries to get Olympias to mistrust Aristotle, which adds tension to Aristotle’s teaching of the boy and perhaps also adds a wider political dimension as we see Isocrates speak to the polis in Athens about threats to democracy (sad to see some things don’t change).
The play is thus packed with historical interest while avoiding being didactic. Due especially to characterizing Alexander as believably boyish yet potentially dangerous and Aristotle as seriously intellectual, scientific and dispassionate — both excellently performed by the actors — the play offers fresh insight into these familiar figures through riveting drama.
As the production evolves — the play having been workshopped at the Getty Villa Theater Lab last year and now staged with some layers added — perhaps a subtler use of projections, with images that are more tonally consistent, might lend a smoother, less scrappy feel. But at its core, “Aristotle/Alexander” is a fascinating glimpse into the shaping of a confident and headstrong conqueror, his maternally inspired superstitions at least partially tempered, thanks to his teacher, by science and reasoning.
“Aristotle/Alexander” performed at Company of Angels, 1350 San Pablo St., Los Angeles, from March 22 to May 11. For more information, visit the play’s website at AristotleAlexander.com.
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