FIRE AND BRIMSTONE FATIGUE
One must admire Antony Zioni for his aspirations with Tales of the Ancient East, which, regrettably, makes the failure of this production all the more lamentable.
Tales of the Ancient East is a tribal experience. Entering the Hudson Guild Theatre one is confronted by an environment cloaked in a primitivism that harkens back to man’s prehistory. The venue has been given a sense of a cavernous, secret chamber, complete with mysterious tokens, strange hybrids of primeval idols, Blair Witch talismans, and constructs seemingly made of animal skins and human bones.
One feels like an acolyte participating in a mysterious ritual as the shamanistic Zioni recites his poetic retelling of early Judeo-Christian tales. But this is hardly the stuff of Sunday schools. Zioni’s apostolic text is darker, and his God so ferociously damning as to make the vengeful Jehovah of the Hebrews seem like a candy-striper.
In the tradition of the Psalms and other ancient texts, Zioni sings his scripture. Additionally, as he does his version of Genesis, a large serpentine puppet hisses and spews smoke, and when he reaches the narrative of the crucifixion, the decaying savior suspended upstage questions the necessity of it.
Throughout it all, Zioni is in constant motion — dancing, drumming, and bellowing out his convoluted poetry as if intent on provoking a very pissed off God even more so.
If this piece were a mere thirty minutes long, it might offer the same appeal as those radical “Hell Houses” that crop up every Halloween. However, at a running time of an hour the dance and poetry become repetitive. There are long moments of dead air or recorded narration, as Zioni dashes off stage to don some new cadaverous mask; what starts as interesting ends as tedious.
Zioni seems to take his poetry seriously, yet never allows it a moment unencumbered by the theatricality of a heavy metal band. If there was anything of excellence in the material here, Zioni extinguished it under the excess of his staging. Which is a pity.
Tales of the Ancient East
Hudson Guild, 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard
part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival
60 minutes; ends on June 26, 2025
for tickets, visit Tales
