Sometimes in theatre, it is the simple, the subtle and the inexpensive that succeed in providing a lasting effect upon the audience of a play, and in DramaSoc’s latest offering, Medea, this is definitely the case. For this performance, a set built up of movable drapes made from canvas-like material is provided alongside simple ivy decoration on the black walls of the barn, creating a creepy, chilling feel to the show, all at presumably low cost.
Departing from classic readings of Euripides’s Medea, which may often include standard Greek theatrical elements, Emily Thommes and Freyja Winterson’s direction has created a physical theatre piece in which the focus is still very much the text. With fluidity of movement perfectly complementing the somewhat tricky script, this play’s nine-strong cast are able to use both physical gesture and vocal touches to express emotion behind the words, as well as simply converting the set by moving drapes around to compliment a scene.
Unfortunately, however, this does occasionally leave some movements slightly out-of-time in what can become a distraction to the actual plot of the play. Cycling constantly between staggered movements and those in unison, the physical theatre of the piece, when used, means that sometimes it would be easier to simplify some rather ambitious ideas that Thommes and Winterson had developed. Similarly, outside of these choreographed sections, character movement can occasionally feel somewhat limp, with occasional arms-by-their-side line readings becoming glaringly obvious.
Yet these criticisms distract from the true power of the performers and performance and when the physical theatre works, it works very well, particularly in a death-sequence in the middle of the play. As Medea, Rosie Fletcher plays a woman with her life falling apart around her. As her relationship with once-husband Jason, played by John Askew, and all others around deteriorates, so does her sanity, in a character often compared to Lady Macbeth. As a result of Askew’s portrayal of a cold, lifeless Jason, Fletcher’s performance allows for empathy, even at the peak of Medea’s distress and rather than simply becoming inaccesible,, we are given a Medea that is emphatic, chilling and overtly feminine, forever retaining the touches of mother and wife. It is this that allows the audience to understand and feel sorry for the woman, despite her actions and her failings throughout the play.
All this is brilliantly surrounded by music provided by James Whittle and his three-piece band, with much of the sound being improvised. Between them, the band play a number of instruments in a style not too dissimilar to that of a film or television score, with music providing an eery counterpart to the text, colouring it and increasing the drama and tension in the atmosphere of every scene, assisting some very seamless transitions. The music is so perfectly accompanying to the play, that it is as if Euripides wrote the score into the original text. Simple lighting by Dan Gee also enables an increase of shadows, provided by the drapes, which add to the drama of the performance. These all add colour and life to the performance, with the music being particularly impressive.
A special mention must go here also to Ellie McAlpine, who plays the Nurse. As narrator, chorus member, and friend to the children, McAlpine succeeds in colouring a very demanding role, in which it is impossible to tell which of the light Mancunian or perfect received pronunciation accents that she uses are actually hers. Succeeding in being fearsome and untouchable as well as the audience’s only friend, McAlpine almost steals the show with her performance, only pipped to the post by Fletcher as title character.
Despite some occasional costume malfunctions and moments where the set becomes too distracting for the piece, Thommes and Winterson, alongside producer Bex Hiscocks, have produced a stunning, unforgettable and unmissable play in which characters collide with plot in order to produce something that is the perfect way to kick off this year’s run of performances in the Drama Barn. If you’re in York this weekend then make sure to see it.