Inventive and skilful storytelling elevate the meeting of Abel and Cain to an imaginative and captivating performance, which Raphael Rodan and Anastasis Sarakatsanos deliver with compassion and brilliance in their modest live music set.Rodan takes on the role as lead story-teller while Sarakatsanos effortlessly accompanies the tales playing the Kunan, a traditional Turkish string instrument most similar to a harp. Rodan flits in out of musical interaction with his own guitar and drum, and the pair demonstrate an excellent rapport with each other, slipping in and out of rhythms and playing with the pace of the show.The audience is comfortably introduced to the piece through a series of stories that build up to the titular encounter. These initial tales explore Radon’s own childhood and go on to stories of war, where one man is split in two by a cannonball. Radon and Sarakatsanos are influenced by the Israel/Palestine conflict and use their fables to pick upon the extremes and limitations that human nature can reach.This piece keeps the audience captivated throughout due to Rodan’s inventive delivery, using only his body and the accompaniment of three instruments to create a magical atmosphere that carries an audience away with it.The only downfall of this piece is in its length: as soon as it reaches the peak of the main story, the carpet is pulled from under your feet and the show has already finished. It would have been wonderful to hear more about Abel and Cain, considering the musical storytellers spent so much time building towards the tale.A lovely piece of storytelling, not to be labelled with the trendy folk style of now, but to be appreciated in its own authentic Grecian and Israeli grace.
