We enter to Almeida Theatre to see a dirt floor and a raised white platform, set against a backdrop of earthen hills. A lone figure clambers to the top of the highest mound and looks out across Thebes. He skips down, a slender figure, and plants himself in the middle of the platform. A coy grin crosses his lips. "Here I am. Dionysos." Standing relaxed in jeans and a t-shirt, he describes to us his birth (his mother being impregnated by Zeus and her subsequent death by thunderbolt) and his reasoning for coming to Thebes (rumours have started about the authenticity of his godliness). Also, he wants to have a bit of fun: "I came to thrill you, Thebes. Don't doubt I will."
It immediately becomes apparent that this is a Dionysus of wildly contrasting personalities. There's the 'fun' Dionysus; this is the man who lives for the party and is the one who pays for the wine. Then there's the 'showman' Dionysus; this is the man who lures women out of the city to lead a life of revelry. We've also got the 'trickster' Dionysus: this is the man who lured king Pentheus into dressing up as a woman, an act which will cause the king to be ripped limb from limb by his own brainwashed mother. And finally, we have Dionysus the God: this is the horned, soil-skinned wendingo, who, in a moment of catharsis arrives to condemn the royalty of Thebes to a life of suffering and pain.
Pentheus is also a character who is far more complex than he appears. His first entrance echoes Dionysus yet differs from it greatly: he climbs to the top of the mound into sight, but instead of surveying Thebes like Dionysus he briskly strides down ready to face the day's political agenda. Unlike Dionysus - who is very much a man of the moment - Pentheus is a man consistently aware of his role and the political ramifications of every action he makes. His characterisation also leaves us with many unanswered questions. Does he view Dionysus in a sexual way? Is he someone sexually oppressed by his role? His initial trepidation at donning a woman's clothes to spy on the Bakkhai could come as a past trauma. This desire to entire womanhood isn't new, whatever the case. And why does he have a woman's jacket and blazer hanging up in his wardrobe? Unlike Dionysus, Pentheus has a hidden longing for sexual and social liberation which has been hammered into nothingness by years of ruling Thebes. Dionysus rejects the notion of sexuality completely, whilst Pentheus is a man ruled by heteronormativity.
Over the course of the play, Dionysus and Pentheus come to represent the opposing side of the human personality. We have the wildly irreverent Dionysus placed directly against the logical, calculating Pentheus. And as is often the case in classical tragedy: it is the logical ones who fall from the heighest heights: Pentheus is ultimately ripped apart, and his head and limbs are carried around Thebes in celebration. His mother Agave, upon realising that she took part in the murder of her son, is shattered by grief and Cadmus (mother of Agave, grandfather of Pentheus) is transformed into a snake.
What the play ultimately preaches: just because the rulers of a particular society are in power does not mean they are always right. Even Tiresias, the blind prophet, failed to predict the grizzly events that would unfold. Humans were powerless to stop the all encompassing power of fate. These are all concepts illustrated in the Chorus' final speech: "What seemed likely did not happen. But for the unexpected a god found a way. That's how this went. Today."
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