Benjamin Goldberg

Hekabe is a tragedy that examines the themes of misery, desolation and the role of gender in leadership. The character of Hekabe is presented as an aged queen turned slave due to fall of Troy, trying to maintain her duties, as her dignity and humanity are taken from her. My design concept for the Fairfax Studio offers a reinterpretation of these themes, imagining the tragedy unfold within the context of a dystopian American empire, falling at the hands of a ruthless media war. The design resembles the Oval office of the White House, however it will be constructed to appear tilted and sunken into the stage, with the floor plane appearing to envelop the set. This design choice is intended to elucidate the idea of a fallen empire; a throne that once symbolised power and prosperity now out of balance and sinking into the ground. Suspended from the lighting rig above will be a circular LED screen that between scenes would display a rotating banner of tabloid-style news headlines. In contrast to the deforming set below, this circular screen would appear symmetrically balanced and physically unaffected by the tragedy unfolding - a metaphor to the dominance of media.