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The bravery of Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks' adaptation of Medea to put the children at the forefront is commendable. The practicalities of getting strong enough child actors to star is near impossible, on top of the need to get across Euripides' original plot and essentially make two children waiting feel exiting and engaging for one hour and ten minutes. Therefore it is astonishing to find that Sarks' production not only works; it excels in every aspect. The setting both exists in the modern day, with Amy Jane Cook's design transforming the Gate's space into a contemporary boys bedroom, and in the Greek age, with the story of Jason and the Argonauts being recounted which could either be interpreted as a fairytale or a real one. The language is naturalistic and focuses on the children's innocence but also treats Medea with sympathy. Amongst the innocence, however, it also has a social commentary on modern day socialisation. You enter in to a normal boy's bedroom strewn about with Nerf guns, bows and arrows and, throughout the show, Jasper and Leon fence, reenact deaths and attack a toy monkey with a foam baseball bat. These activities are used to demonstrate the socialisation of males towards violence and aggression in a rather unsettling way. This feeling is intensified when it is being carried out by innocent children who still wet themselves and hug their father's blanket. Jasper and Leon were played by Bill Keogh and Samuel Menhinick at the performance I went to and they are wonderful young actors who don't come across as precocious and annoying which child actors occasionally come across as. This is a wonderfully immersive and emotional experience that gets to the crux of Euripide's tragedy.
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The final production of the Ameida's Greek season brings Kate Fleetwood as the vengeful Medea in Rupert Goold's strikingly modern production with Rachel Cusk's reimagining of Euripides' tragedy as the story of the divorce between two successful writers has an unrelentingly feminist message whilst, in the process, discussing the destructive nature of divorce and the emotional damage it can bring to children in the middle of it. The notable thing about this production is the change of ending. If you are coming for horror, blood and gore, you will be disappointed. No screams or any graphic scenes are constructed, with a clinical production and design from Ian Macneil. Any production of Medea hinges on the quality of the titular character and Kate Fleetwood is a worthy Medea. She is angry and vengeful in the role yet also containing love and sanity which earths her and, with a frustrating and annoying chorus of mothers, seems like the most sensible person there. Whilst I'm not totally satisfied with Cusk's adaptation, with an ending which makes little sense and a family whose first world problems are hard to totally sympathise with, yet there are some stimulating issues raised in this adaptation. The supporting cast is strong with Amanda Boxer's mother demonstrating how not only men prevent oppose feminism and Justin Salinger being a husband who, whilst amiable enough, is unsympathetic and is not subtle or caring enough to command the audiences respect which creates a fiery and tense relationship on stage. Whilst some found the chorus annoying, I found it relevant and an interesting translation of the cliques between mothers but with some pathos to be found in some of them, notably Ruth Everett's character. The cleaning lady is a misstep which really just provides a foil to demonstrate how well off and lucky Medea's family is, which diminishes the strength and power of the piece. I can't see this interpretation of Medea being used again but it is a valid and stimulating work that captures both the position of feminism in the modern age very well.
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It is hard to have an objective view on a production. Multiple elements like your mood at the time, the seat your sitting and the price of a ticket impact your view on a show. Therefore, I find it difficult to be critical of The Scoop as their setup is very noble and ambitious. However, I have to say that Women of Troy was plain boring. Lisa Kuma has adapted Euripides' Trojan War plays in a way that feels long-winded and dull. The first half is spent with the debate over the death of Iphigenia between Agamemnon and Clytemnestra that has no buzz or tension to it. When you feel apathetic at the ultimate death, you know these actors have not done their job properly. The second half picks up some pace and captures the idea of the brutality of humanity yet never feels quite right. There are wobbly links as far as the acting goes but Ursula Mohan, Hannah Kerin and Terence Frisch are three notably good performances. The rest range in performances from middling to bad. Unfortunately, it comes at an inconvenient time when many of these Greeks are being portrayed at other theatres with larger budgets, with shows like Oresteia at the Almeida showing the same events with such skill and brilliance. Whilst the motive of this enterprise is fantastic, the quality needs to be better so that people aren't alienated from theatre.
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Bakkhai, according to Rupert Goold is about 'gender, about wildness, and about who, when the framework of society is stripped away, we really are.' These high concept and big ideas are addressed very well in James Macdonald's production of the Euripides tragedy. However, to me, Bakkhai is a play about pain, loss and corruption of power. These smaller and more heartfelt themes are not conveyed here. Anne Carson's adaptation sacrifices clear narrative structure for poetry and dressing. Character development is abandoned bar an exposition part at the beginning from Whishaw's Dionysis that, in a Star Wars fashion, tells us the ins and outs of the story so far. Macdonald's use of a chorus too is a shame as they feel unconnected to the three actors, almost creating two separate productions. In spite of this, the talent on that stage is perhaps the strongest this year. The quality of the voices in the Bakkhai are astonishing and create an eerie atmosphere thanks to Orlando Gough's polyphonic compositions. They carry off speaking in unison very well, maintaining both clarity and character. Kevin Harvey is also superb in a plethora of roles which are all different, not just in accent but in character, movement and tone. Whishaw and Carvel give two standout performances that, in any other production would be showered in awards. However, Ben Wishaw's beguiling yet cruel God and Carvel's pathetic Pentheus and mad turning despairing Agave are diluted by a creative team who want to concentrate on the big issues rather than concentrating on the more powerful ones. Carvel especially suffers as Agave who, whilst his singing is too similar to his Miss Trunchable to have a profound effect, his grief stirred the only shred of emotion in the piece. Whilst Oresteia left me an emotional wreck, Bakkhai left me cold in spite of some of the best and talented performances currently on stage.
