Medea

On Saturday Paul and I went to the next show in our theatre subscription - Medea. Originally the tickets were for next week but we will be in California so an exchange of dates was in order. The rest of our group will be enjoying the play while we are carousing at the house party in Paso Robles.

There is no doubt that they will enjoy this play - even though the story is one of the 'heaviest' that we have seen for some time. When love becomes hate... Euripides' great drama of romantic obsession tells the tale of the princess Medea. For the love of Jason, an ambitious adventurer, she has betrayed her father and her people and gone into lonely exile in an alien land. Now, casually dismissed by the man for whose love she has given all she has, she plans a terrible revenge.

In fact, if this were a film it would be one that I would never see. A slasher flick that appeals to the strong-of-heart teen set. Yet, as a play the same story, while intense, is brilliantly acted making for a stellar evening at the theatre.

Seana McKenna's Medea is a performance to treasure, made up of equal parts fire and music. She plays the driven woman with the resonance needed to fill the role and – uniquely – the deep vein of black humour lurking in this woman's soul. In fact, there were times when I thought that the humour rose to the surface too often - this isn't a play at which there should be laughter! A small flaw in an otherwise brilliant performance.

Medea is terrifying and yet electrifying. One always wonders at the hubris of Jason who dared spurn such a powerful sorceress. The set was minimalist but very effective. There were more pyrotechnics used than I thought they needed. Overall this was well worth seeing. It will playing at the Canon theater in Toronto for about another month.

Comments

[Kathryn Gerth]

Euripides has it's moments, no? Of the four of the ancient play writers...Aristophanes was always my favorite...always about the giggle rather than the tragedy. Dontchajustlovethis poster? The poster alone would scare the heck out of anyone!

[JDeQ]

I know what you mean Kathryn - the poster is worthy of any slasher movie! ARGH

The Greeks certainly knew how to write tragic plays - the antics of the gods as they played with the mortals were something else!