Freshers’ Plays 2011: Medea

Choosing a well known Greek tragedy like Euripides’ Medea as a Freshers’ play was a brave decision by director Peter Swallow, and it had the potential to be highly successful. Swallow’s bold staging lead to a visually impressive piece of theatre. A house had been constructed with a gauze window, enabling light to be projected from behind to create striking and, at times, quite scary silhouettes.

The ambitious ending involved Medea mounting the roof of the house in a blood spattered dress, and looking down on Jason to deliver the last of her lines, producing a strong and resonating finale. The interesting directorial decisions made by Swallow were hindered, however, by a lack of conviction and confidence from the cast.

It was evident that all members of the cast were keen to be involved, but the intricate choreography designed for the chorus of Corinthian women didn’t quite reflect the hopes and aspirations that the choreographer and director evidently had. The actor playing Jason (Jamie Jones), although he didn’t fully express the sadness at having lost his children at the end of the play, did lifted the overall performance. 

Particular praise must go to Mathilde Johnsen, the producer, who took on the lead role of Medea due to an illness in the cast. This was tackled well and her dedication made for a convincing performance which didn’t detract from the rest of the play.

It was a commendable performance, and credit must be given for the decision to do something a bit different. I look forward to future plays from the production team and cast. Three stars out of five.

Written by Elizabeth Stone, standing-room-only writer