Character development: Ariadne
Labyrinth
31 January 2025 to 08 February 2025
As part of the Midsummer Festival at the Abbotsford Convent.
Composer: Evan J Lawson
Librettist: Daniel Szesiong Todd
Director: Cathy Hunt
Choreographer: Ashley Dougan
Costume Designer: Jane Noonan
Lighting Designer: Gabe Bethune
Theseus: Daniel Szesiong Todd
Ariadne: Teresa Ingrilli
Daedalus: Girl Whatever (Stella)
Piano/Minotaur/Asterion: Danaë Killian
Flute/Spirit: Kim Tan
Violin: Alex Macdonald
Dancers: Ashley Dougan and Charlie MacArthur
Being a southern Italian descendant (with plenty of greek DNA apparently), I’ve always been interested in ancient Greek Mythology. Many of the stories take place in locations where my own ancestors dwelt.
I jumped at the opportunity to portray Ariadne – Princess of Crete from the famous myth of Theseus and the Minotaur in the opera Labyrinth (February 2025).
Photo by Suzanne Phoenix.
First up, I’ll quickly summarise the story (there are many versions):
The story takes place in Crete, Ancient Greece.
King Minos is a descendant of Zeus and Queen Pasiphaë is the daughter of the sun God Helios. They live in a palace above the Labyrinth (a maze built by the Athenian Daedalus). To cut a long story short, Pasiphaë sleeps with a bull; due to reasons I will not discuss here; and has a child Asterion (half man/half bull). Asterion grows up to be the terrifying Minotaur who roams the Labyrinth and kills any living thing that enters their domain.
> Taur, meaning “bull”. Minotaur equates to Minos’ Bull.
Minos sees the Minotaur and the Labyrinth as a powerful symbol of Crete. After Minos’ son Androgeos is killed in Athens, Minos declares war with Athens and defeats them. As punishment, King Ageas of Athens is ordered to sacrifice 14 young boys and girls every 9 years to the Minotaur in the Labyrinth.
One day, the prince of Athens, Theseus, willingly takes the place of one of the Athenian boys to try to kill the Minotaur.
This is where we start the opera Labyrinth, with Theseus and the sacrificial Athenians (the audience) about to enter the Minotaur’s domain; the Labyrinth.
Who is Ariadne?
Ariadne is an unmarried daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë - King and Queen of Crete, Ancient Greece. She betrays her country by helping Theseus through the Labyrinth to kill her half-brother, the Minotaur.
What is her relationship to her father?
I recently watched KAOS on Netflix -
(Spoiler alert – skip this paragraph if you haven’t watched it but also Netflix has cancelled Season 2 so... whatev's 🙁)
- where King Minos absolutely adores his daughter Ariadne. But Ariadne doesn’t mirror those feelings. Her feelings are more complex, she often defends her father, even though she doesn’t agree with the way her father rules. In the end, despite his love, she doesn’t hesitate to kill him after discovering he has lied to her, her mother and kingdom his entire life in order to save his own face.
I think in our take, Ariadne and King Minos’ relationship is much less loving. He’s a typical authoritative style of parent that doesn’t think much of Ariadne’s emotional needs or desires – but rather cares about only her physical health and how her position can serve him and Crete.
This has taken it’s toll on Princess Ariadne. Abandoned and misunderstood, she exists in the shadows. Her emotional health is of no consequence.
What drives Ariadne to want to HELP Theseus escape Crete?
To lust after Theseus... maybe.
There are many stories out there that deep dive into Ariadne’s need to escape. As part of my process I have imagine some of these possible reasons:
> In Crete, Ariadne is trapped. Both physically and emotionally. The huge palace and sprawling Labyrinth underneath further weighs down this truth. She wields no power despite her royal status.
“Where is my kingdom, Theseus? What power do I wield? My sovereignty shines forth over one bare room and a few trusted servants. All is else fear and falsehood”
> In some tellings, Ariadne is about to be married to a terrible leader for political reasons.
In our telling, Ariadne’s mother has since died and she has taken on the maternal role to support Asterion – the Minotaur. But in reality she cannot possibly ‘mother’ him as he is lost inside the beast and the Labyrinth. Only the Minotaur’s death can set her [and Asterion] free.
When I approach character development, I try to draw on times when I have experienced similar feelings - in this case feeling trapped, abandoned and feeling shame.
What’s unique about the Ariadne from Labyrinth (the dance opera)?
In Daniel Szesiong Todd’s libretto, I really love the exploration of the relationship between Ariadne, her little half-brother Asterion who grew up to be the Minotaur.
“He smelt of milk and moss when he was was born - as though earth’s wildness clung to his soft skin”
Although fully aware of the beast, Ariadne clearly loves her half-brother. Or perhaps the memory of what her brother once was. Ariadne wants to help Theseus BUT it’s important to her that Theseus understands and respects this complex love.
He needs to understand the shame that comes with killing the Minotaur / Asterian “the child in him”. Brute force alone is not enough. It’s important to Ariadne that he understands this shame.
“Are you afraid of shame?… Do you not pity the child in him?”
Does Ariadne love Theseus?
Hmm good question. By the end, Ariadne likes Theseus. She needs Theseus to see her. Really see her. And I think he does. And that is enough to convince her to risk everything and flee to Athens with him.
This is where we end this dance opera Labyrinth.
If you’re not familiar with the next part of the story - spoiler alert – it doesn’t end well. Try watching Ariadne Auf Naxos by Richard Wagner for the unofficial sequel 😊
Music by Evan Lawson.
INSPIRATION:
> Podcast: Theseus and the Minotaur - Sometimes I find it helpful to read a children’s telling of the myth as its simplified. It feels like the wikipedia version of any topic – start there and dig deeper.
> Book: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint - A retelling of the story from Ariadne’s perspective.
> Podcast: The Ancients Episode 485: The Minotaur - Discussing the historical artefacts that help explain the myth of the Minotaur.