“I do not leave my children's bodies with thee; I take them with me that I may bury them in Hera’s precinct. And for thee, who didst me all that evil, I prophesy an evil doom”
Passion. Love. Vengeance.
It could only ever be a Greek tragedy. It could only ever be Euripides’s Medea. And as I sit here in near darkness pondering my words, a storm rumbles through the Edinburgh skies. Summer is cut short and gloom swallows up the Festive cheer. The Gods are angry. Very angry.
For those of you unaware of it, Medea tells the story of a woman possessed by rage and hell bent on revenge after her husband, Jason (of Golden Fleece fame), leaves her for another woman. Facing exile by King Creon, Medea has a single day to organize her thoughts. And to commit mass murder.
The genius of the great Greek works, such as Medea, is evident in their ability, thousands of years later, to translate to a modern audience and push deep and often dark emotional buttons within us. For the most part, this production continues with that trend, in what was generally an entertaining and powerful experience.
However, what was quite distracting and occasionally irritating, was a couple of over the top performances, particularly by the lead. A little cartoonish in her portrayal, the rage that is put across slips into the humorous from time to time, lightening the mood in a play that is anything but candy floss and bunnies.
But aside from that, this is still an undeniably devastating piece. No matter how many stories we’ve read whose characters are so utterly jaded and depraved, the Greek Tragedies remain some of the most shocking pieces of work that mankind has ever conceived.
Runs Until August 29th, 18:30pm
Ticket prices: £10 - £13