Fifteen pounds doesn’t get you much
these days.......3 coffees at Starbucks, a weekend wardrobe from Primark and it’s
half the price of a Travelcard from Surrey. But yesterday, £15 got me a
sensational 90 minutes at The Olivier Theatre at The National. Medea has just
opened with Helen McCrory (Mrs Nicholas Brody from Homeland) as the title role
giving the performance of her career.
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| Medea at The National Theatre. Helen McCrory - I want to be you |
I have yet to venture into reviewing
on my blog but I was so blown away by those 90 minutes yesterday that I had to
tell you about it.
Medea was written by Greek poet
Euripides in approximately 431 BC. Medea has been left by her husband Jason (of
Golden Fleece fame) to marry a young princess. Reacting to this betrayal after
she gave up her family for him, she vows to revenge him. She murders his new
bride but it’s not enough to truly wound Jason forever and so she murders their
two sons. WTF! would be the response of modern folk, but McCrory’s performance
is so forceful that you like her, pity her and understand her logic. It is a
study of heartbreak and grief and how these emotions can unhinge you.
The first image of Medea smashing
rocks in the middle of a dark, gnarly forest firmly plants the idea that she
has the ability to be feral, physical and wild. It was like stumbling upon a
sacrificial ritual which is immediately shocking. But then she appears
slouching around, cleaning her teeth and smoking roll ups. The set reveals the tangled
trees with empty children’s swings hanging from the branches amidst the
tattered Greek home with the glitzy wedding above, enclosed in glass. Clear cut
and yet a tangled mess.
The Greek Chorus, oh how I loved
them. They were a most effective and beautiful part of the production. A gorgeous
lady I did Oklahoma with years ago, Vivien Carter, was one of these women in a
peach dress and I was so in awe of her. The chorus are vital in any Greek play,
commenting and advising the protagonist; here these Stepford Wife-esque Women
of Corinth sang lingering music composed by Goldfrapp and created pulsing
movement through contemporary dance. They were unsettling, beautiful and
haunting- just brilliant. The dancing was used to horrifying effect as Medea
exited to slit the throats of her two young sons, I was genuinely appalled and
had my hands over my face but my god, it was fabulous.
There aren’t enough adjectives to
justly describe McCrory’s performance. She is all sinew (I need to know her
fitness regime, she looks incredible) with emotions so raw that her costumes
shudder with the ferocity of her feeling. She is funny, sexy and wholly
engaging; a 90 minute master class in connecting to text.
I heard an interview on radio 4 with
the writer, Ben Power, who said that “during rehearsals we spoke to criminal psychologists
and grief specialists who were astonished by acutey with which Euripides describes
this emotional trauma.....2,500 years before psycho-analysis he is describing
grief and trauma, the stages of grief, the movements between grief and anger with
absolute pinpoint precision.” If you don’t listen to Front Row yet on Radio 4,
do it!
Some reviews have suggested that Ben
Power’s modern adaptation has lessened the poetic meter of traditional Greek
theatre. Greek purists may hate the contemporary costume, iPhone selfie and
children moronically staring at tablets and televisions but I appreciated it.
Oh my gosh I can’t tell you enough
how bloomin’ brilliant this production is; GO GO GO! I left inspired,
thoughtful and in need of a stiff drink. Helen McCrory is exceptional and the
ticket is 1/6 of the price of many top West End musicals, it’ll be £15 well
spent.
