“For though woman be timorous enough in all else, and as regards courage, a coward at the mere sight of steel, yet in the moment she finds her honour wronged, no heart is filled with deadlier thoughts than hers.” -Euripides
★★★★☆
In c.431BC, Euripides composed Medea. The tragedy received a controversial reception as a result of the extent to which it manipulates and perverts the polarities of gender. Overcome with jealousy and anger at her husband, Jason’s, violation of the marriage oath, Medea subverts the patriarchal assumptions dominating life in Ancient Athens in the most extreme way possible- hurting Jason in the best way she can, she kills their two young sons in an act of hubristic revenge.
As part of the ‘Dancin’ Oxford’ Festival, Medea has come to the Oxford Playhouse in the form of physical dance, co-produced by the Spanish dance companies ‘Thomas Noone Dance’ and ‘Mercat de les Fiors Barcelona’.
The mesmerising movements of the six dancers in the cast, capture the consuming attention of the audience from the outset, and the beautiful choreography is emphasised through the minimalist set: a plain white backdrop, washed with blue and grey lighting which changes throughout. The dance achieves its purpose in perfectly conveying the emotion that Euripides’ tragedy deals with. The character of Medea commands the stage, remaining true to the original plot, her indomitable nature is represented through the power and execution behind her dancing. Similarly, the masculine terms which Euripides uses to describe her in his play are represented through the simplistic and severe costume and hairstyle that she adopts. The vague nature of dance allows the audience to interpret the messages of this play in their own way and thus encourages a wider range of responses and the music assists this. It is comprised of a combination out of electronic beats, combat sounds and shooting as well as a questionably-tuneful piano, all of which complement the action on stage and incite a more emotional response from the audience.
Whilst the essence of tragedy was evident through the choreography, the plotline was at times particularly hard to discern. As a huge Euripides fan I can’t help but feel ever so slightly disappointed in a performance which fails to incorporate the wit behind his prose which evokes a subliminal undermining of the conceptions of femininity. Of course, this isn’t easy in a piece with no speech, however I would have liked to see more of an attempt at conveying the story itself, particularly the ingenious way in which Medea manipulates the male characters around her, in order to achieve her plan. This piece focuses predominantly on the emotional trauma caused by the betrayal and revenge, which are important, but more significant when you are aware of the developments in the plot.
This being said, the play ends with Medea standing alone on stage, waving her arms in a ritualistic motion and breathing heavily, inciting a similar feeling of distress in the audience. This terrifying conclusion embodies the heart of the tragedy; she is victorious in her revenge, but simultaneously destroyed by her loss. The performance achieves its goal in provoking a sense of catharsis in its audience, our emotions are purged and we are restored to the reality of our existences. This version of Medea was entirely unique to any I have seen before, and like any tragedy, important for us to see, I’d just advise being aware of the synopsis beforehand.
