Medea Archives - North West End UK

8Mar

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Medea – Traverse Theatre

Eurpides’ Greek tragedy, Medea, is revived once more by Kathy McKean, arguably bringing more life to the title role, putting Medea front and centre in her own story. This adaptation stays true to its source material while also modernising to fit with today’s usual audience. Her husband, Jason (Jonny Panchaud), gained the golden fleece while Medea (Nicole Cooper) has largely been forgotten. Left at home to look after her two sons, assisted by the Nurse (Isabelle Joss), Medea begins to play a dangerous game of revenge after Jason falls in love with the Princess and daughter of King Creon (Alan Steele). Cooper’s performance as Medea is truly incredible. From the moment she enters the stage, she commands attention, bringing a great sense of naturalism to this well-known Greek tragedy. Sh...

Medea – Ivan Vazov National Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria

26Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Medea – Ivan Vazov National Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria

Cheek by Jowl do what they do best as director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod thrust us into the heart of Euripides' great tragedy with an intelligent and immersive in-the-round production which takes the challenges of an ancient past and reimagines them in the here and now, with this production performed in Bulgarian, translated from the Greek by Dorothea Tabaskova, and with English surtitles, translated from the Greek by Lucinda Dawkins. Jason (Velislav Pavlov) is set to marry the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth (Valentin Ganev), yet the talk of the Chorus (Radena Valkanova, Joreta Nikolova, Stafania Koleva, Elena Ivanova, Nadya Keranova, Ana Papadopolu) is less about this occasion and more in concern to Jason's ex-wife, Medea (Radina Kardzhilova) who is present f...

21Jun

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Medea – The Coronet Theatre

This is Medea like you have never seen it before. Director Satoshi Miyagi takes an ancient masterpiece, tweaks it, paints it in fresh colours, and creates a jewel that dazzles. This is no mere telling of a story, it is an experience. Performed in Japanese with English subtitles, the play is set in a restaurant in Meiji era Japan. It is a time of wide-ranging changes from government policies to education systems to trade. A group of male patrons in the restaurant has decided to perform Medea. Each character will be played by two people – a male “speaker” who will deliver the lines, and a female “mover” who will act them out. The female staff of the restaurant present themselves to be picked for the roles. They appear on stage dressed in kimonos of the same shade, brown bags on their ...

19Feb

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Medea – Soho Place

Soho Place’s second classic, since recently opening as the newest West End theatre, is ‘Medea’ played by Sophie Okonedo and directed by Dominic Cooke. This tale is renowned, presenting to the world a woman consumed with revenge. Opposite her is Ben Daniels, taking on all male parts swiftly moving between characters like putting on fresh new skin. The space being in the round completed this picture of judgement circling Medea as she mourns the life she left behind, killing her own brother and defying her city to live a life with Jason. Upon arrival, Jason moves on to Creon’s daughter with the desire of power and wealth, leaving Medea and their two children. As the tragedy begins, Medea wails beneath the stage as her nurse seeks our guidance. Placed within the audience, the Women of Corin...

The Met Live in HD: Medea – The Metropolitan Opera

24Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Met Live in HD: Medea – The Metropolitan Opera

Originally written in French in 1797, The Met premiere the later Italian version of Cherubini’s rarely performed masterpiece, based on Euripides’ and Corneille’s tragedies, to open their new season in a co-production with the Greek National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Spurning antiquity, director David McVicar sets the piece somewhere around the time of its original writing with a distinctly Gallic nod towards the French Revolution that would follow, and the straightforward simplicity of the set, which he also designed, is sympathetic to an audience mostly unfamiliar with the work. The breathless overture recedes to introduce Glauce (Janai Brugger), daughter of Creonte (Michele Pertusi), King of Corinth, and her impending marriage to Giasone (Matthew Po...