Removing Mike Bartlett’s adaptation from its ancient Greek origins, this modern script is witty, fast-paced and exciting. When considering however that it’s based on a Euripides classic, the audience’s expectations are naturally heightened and are unfortunately, not necessarily reached. It’s easy to get lost in the naturalistic script, and combined with the stark, suburban set the play really is a triumph. It’s only when one is reminded of its textual derivation that the audience’s need for a climactic ending is really enhanced, but due to the modern setting, these expectations are perhaps unrealistic. In some ways, the adaptation reduces the moral weight of the play. This constant battle between new and old, between dreamlike and realistic becomes the production’s greatest flaw.

The play was distinctly modern, in set, text and costume. Ruari Murchison’s set exuded a feeling of suffocation, of confinement within a consumerist world. Externally, the plastic looking photographic representation of uniformed terraced houses worked well to communicate this feeling of modern monotony. The interior of the house, a clinical, unyielding show home, contributed to this feeling and consequently made the downfall of the modern woman a certainty. Rachael Stirling was a perfect choice for the lead role. Her feisty, twisted characterisation was apparently effortless, but her climactic display of madness was somehow unsatisfying. This may however, be attributed to the needs of the script as opposed to the acting. Other stand-out performances came from Adam Levy as Jason and Amelia Lowdell as Pam, cleverly taking on the role of the traditional Greek chorus by conveying offstage news vital to plot development. Levy was a perfect counterpart for Medea to bounce off, his composure in earlier scenes believably enraging, and his breakdown after Medea’s act of gruesome revenge heart wrenching. Amelia Lowdell represented the hard, cold companion, merely there out of an inherent sense of duty but hardly supportive. There is however, nothing more frustrating than a production with an apparently pointless character. Paul Brendan is underused chronically as the seemingly irrelevant brick layer, who utters one word throughout the entire production. As where Tom, Medea and Jason’s son, was mute throughout, this was constantly referenced to as a side-effect to his parents separation. Brendan’s character was given no such privilege.  

As previously stated, removing the script from its Greek origins, the script was refreshingly modern and easily relatable. The dialogue was sharp, the characters strong and the set and costumes pleasing. The play loses its way when it slips into subtle referencing to the text on which it is based. The audience then begin to expect something more, but that something more is rendered impossible in keeping with the naturalistic, realistic qualities of the production. There was an immense build up to Medea’s revenge which was met with a disproportionate display of madness from the lead character. Although visually very powerful, Medea’s last scene deserved more: more blood, more distortion; the script owed the audience more than what was presented onstage. When removed from its basis, the production is a great piece of theatre. Bringing realistic, relatable characters to the stage and placing them into distinctly modern situations such as marriage separation and mental breakdowns, the production has a great appeal. The only real downfall is that its stylistic ancestor demands more from the script. That is not necessarily achieved with this adaptation of the Euripides classic.