A deer slowly bounds across the wide-open stage and finds a spot to rest and feed. Dark, percussive music plays as the animal is spotted by a man hunting in the woods. He very slowly, silently removes an arrow from his quiver, pulls backs, and shoots. The arrow pierces the deer's chest, and it shakes and struggles in pain until it finally falls dead to the ground. The man is King Agamemnon, and little does he know that this small act will displease the gods and set off a tragic chain of events for himself and the whole of Greece. The opening of Theodora Skipitares's Iphigenia burns a powerful and haunting image into the minds of the audience. What's more remarkable is how this effect is fashioned by Bunraku puppetry, a traditional Japanese art form. The deer is carefully manipulated by three performers
Love and War
