Pomegranate Jam

Pomegranate Jam improves Greek mythology. This is not an achievement that should be taken lightly. For all the countless works inspired by their example, few interpreters of the ancient stories are brave enough to ask: what would make this story better? 

Produced by the CalArts Festival Theatre, Pomegranate Jam powerfully reimagines the myth of Persephone, rewriting it with a conscious, creatively significant emphasis upon female agency. The result is a familiar legend, transformed into a staggeringly beautiful romance. Instead of being kidnapped by Hades, Persephone is invited into his domain, the scene of their epic, silent courtship; when she is presented with a pomegranate, it is a symbol of love, not trickery. And so, Persephone becomes queen of the underworld by choice (because really, why not? It's a sweet gig). But her choice has consequences...

This story unfolds through an elegant mixture of shadow puppetry and dance, all silhouetted on the same screen, merging seamlessly into a single, poetically formed world. The puppetry is minimalist yet charming, establishing the play's vistas of colour, while the Balinese-influenced dancers are astonishingly graceful, emotive and dreamlike. A gorgeous, ghostly original score, from composer David Aguila and violinist Kris Rahamad, serves the action better than any dialogue or narration ever could.

In Pomegranate Jam, what was once little more than an imaginative metaphor for the changing of the seasons becomes a timeless, moving coming-of-age tale which achieves more with its deceptive simplicity than many productions with twice the length or budget. A humble triumph.