Arsinée Khanjian in Cruel and Tender. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
Atom Egoyan's return to the stage
Cruel and Tender was highly anticipated
by Beat Rice
Last night, the much anticipated production of Cruel and Tender written by Martin Crimp and directed by Atom Egoyan opened to a full, attentive house. The play is a modern drama based on Sophocles tragedy of Trachiniae, where Deianeira, wife of Heracles, waits at home for her husband who is at war. In Crimp’s version Amelia waits for her husband who is a General in a war zone in Africa. She finds out about his atrocities overseas and struggles to come to terms with his motives for destruction. International conflict finds its disturbing way home and into the relationships of the people living in the stark white house.
