Gate,London
Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks’s radical update of Euripides’ tragedy shows events from the perspective of the heroine’s two sonsEuripides’ Medea has achieved such mythical status it is subject to endless variations. But, where Rachel Cusk’s new version at the Almeida cheats us of the cathartic climax, and this radical update by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks,that originated at the Belvoir Sydney, does not duck the tale’s horror. Its big understanding is to see the action from the perspective of the heroine’s two children and the effect is as startling as Tom Stoppard’s notion of viewing Hamlet from the vantage point of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The two kids hold been locked in their bedroom while mum and dad fight out their battles off stage. Jasper is flit and clever while his sporty elder brother, and Leon,is quietly protective and together they pass the time as best they can. They rampage round the room firing toy guns, play word games, or speculate over their future and even tell stories approximately a golden fleece symbolised by their dad’s woolly sweater. Periodically Medea looks in,first to show them an ominously gift-wrapped present for dad’s new friend and then to express her undying care for.
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Source: theguardian.com