Book Review of Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

Syracuse 412BC. Two potters, cynical Lampo and idealist Gelon, cook up an insane scheme to stage a Euripides play with Athenian prisoners of war, in the quarry where they are imprisoned. 

The hapless pair obtain funding, costumes and music. While artistically the performance exceeds their expectations it sets in train a terrible sequence of events that rivals the darkest Greek tragedy and tests their friendship to destruction.

Author Ferdia Lennon is Irish and chooses to recount Lampo’s narrative in contemporary Dublin vernacular. Surprisingly, this works, partly because Lampo is a drunken habitue of taverns, mixing with petty criminals and slaves, and partly because Gelon is a dreamer, venerating the wise words of Euripides.

But the pair live in a dark and cruel world, full of casual violence and simmering hate, with sharp contrasts between the life of the rich and those struggling at the bottom of society. Theatre offers a brief escape, for both the performing prisoners, and the two potters-cum-directors, before a lust for vengeance brings their dreams crashing down.

Yet Glorious Exploits is not a depressing read. It is packed with black humour, yearning love, and glimpses of humanity spanning the divide between warring Athenians and Sicilians. The coda provides a flicker of hope that good deeds are valued and artistic endeavour is what makes us human.

Author website: https://www.ferdialennon.com/

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