Hate is a bottomless cup - I will pour and pour

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews...

Medea : @sohoplace

I booked tickets to see this because I like Sophie Okonedo (without actually being able to tell you one thing she's been in without Googling it - ah yes, Dirty Pretty Things and Hotel Rwanda) and I liked the theatre when I visited it last time, without particularly liking the play.  I know Medea is one of them old Greek plays featuring one of the most iconic female roles and I believe it's not exactly a laugh a minute, but I can't claim to be as knowledgeable about the whole thing as the barman at The Craft Beer Company in Clerkenwell.

Barman : “Any plans for this evening?”

Me : “Off to the theatre - Medea”

Barman : “Oh yeah - which translation?”

Me : “Errr”

Barman : “Because it’s such an old play, there have been many translations all of which accentuate different aspects of the play and offer up different interpretations”

Me : <awkward silence> Barman : “I’m guessing I didn’t get out as much as I could have done as a kid”

Last time I was here, I was upgraded to ringside seats but this time I was back in the gods - but the very impressive thing about this theatre is how close to the action you are, even in the cheap seats. And I even had a very handily positioned rail which I was allowed to lean on, but I was very much NOT allowed to put my coat over - this was made VERY clear to me.

A table and chairs, eh? I wonder what that means?!? Well, as it turns out, they mean nothing because the first thing that happens is a guy comes on and removes them - and then he starts walking around the stage in slow motion. Ah - OK. A woman then appears on stage to give us some back story until the lights flash and the guy speeds up to normal speed, talks to the woman, and then goes back into circling the stage in slow motion, whilst changing his clothes. Well, that makes perfect sense!

Sophie soon appears though and gives us some proper acting - it's very much a part that enables and demands it. I'm not going to go into the plot in any details in case you don't know it, but there's a reason why it's called a Greek tragedy - it's infused with a sense of dread and foreboding throughout and it's safe to say things don't end nicely for a lot of people.

Having seen the play just the once, I'm unable to compare this version (it's based on Robinson Jeffers' translation from the late 40s - I must let the barman know) with any others but I found it much more accessible and easier to understand than I was expecting for a play that was first performed in 431 BC.

The setting of the play is interesting - it's set in the round (which works much better in this theatre than most) with the audience intended to be an audience of Greek women who are being addressed as part of the play. Within the audience there are also three members of the cast who interact with Medea - they spend most of the play in their seats, which works surprisingly well. The guy walking in circles in slow motion is also interesting - he takes all the male roles in the play (four of them) and changes costume to denote who he is playing, but keeping him on stage and in motion between appearances is certainly different. The other main talking point of the play for me is the heavy rain at the end - it absolutely tips it down but the rain stays on the stage remarkably well.

As I said, Sophie gives us some proper acting in this - it's an emotional rollercoaster of a role into which she puts every ounce of effort and I heard quite a few people mention this on their way out of the theatre. Ben Daniels is also impressive as the men, most dramatically so as Jason (Medea's ex-husband) but his comedic turn as Aegeas brings some light relief (there's not a lot of it to go around). Of the rest, Marion Bailey stands out as Medea's servant - it feels like she's catching up with what's going on at the same time as we are.

I really enjoyed this - yes, it's not easy viewing but it's compelling, well acted, well staged and works really well in this theatre. However, it wasn't sold out - that's disappointing, people! It's well worth a watch, so get along there before it closes next month and fill up those empty seats - this is a far better showcase for the theatre than Marvellous was.

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For Black Boys... - a proper piece of theatre