Theatre N16 9th-11th May/21st-24th May. Reviewed By Jessica Brady
Black Sheep Productions return with Madelaine Cunningham’s ‘Full Circle’ after a critically acclaimed run at the Arts Theatre back in 2015, and I for one am thrilled that this wonderful piece of theatre gets to be seen once more.
Full Circle is a brilliantly written play that explores the stories of four of the most notorious woman in Greek mythology and brings them together as they delve into the natures of the woman and their histories. The characters we meet are Phaedra Queen of Athens [played by Niamh Branigan], Helen Of Troy [played by Laura McKee], Medea Princess of Colchis [played by Lucy Avison] and Clytemnestra [played by the writer Madelaine Cunningham]. In the myths these characters are hailed as villains, murderesses and whores and this play discusses what led these women to the actions they undertook in their own words, they push each other’s buttons to get to the truths that lay beneath the legends. Cunningham has cleverly imagined the reasoning behind the woman and what led them to do what they did with an evident extensive knowledge of Greek mythology, and it pays of tremendously.
I was hooked into the format instantly as I walked into the small studio theatre at N16 which was simply staged with an array of fluorescent yellow mirrors with ripped up newspapers [symbolic perhaps to the stories that were told of the woman?] and a bright yellow draped fabric chair with a Game of Thrones style Wooden stick backing. The four actresses stood on stage and performed a Greek chorus style movement to set the tone for the play, with simple long dresses and different accented accessories to represent each character.
Once all the audience were seated the woman dispersed and we are thrown into a distraught and terrified Helen running in and falling to her knees to Clytemnestra. Each characters story unfolds and it seems they are trapped in perjury where, until they fully admit and recognised the true reasoning for what did, they are to remain. The characters intertwine and manipulate each other to get to the truth until they all reach their undoing and we end at the beginning with Helen rushing in to her knees, hence coming Full Circle.
These four actresses are brilliantly directed by Madison Maylin in what could have been a difficult story to follow, but there is clarity and reasoning to every decision which meant as an audience we understood the turmoil and tails perfectly. Each performer is well cast and executes their role with control and elegance and they are all wonderfully captivating to watch. I particularly loved the powerful break down of Medea as she finally shows remorse for killing her children, Avison was brilliant in that moment. I see these four actresses going very far judging by what I watched this evening.
I think Black sheep Productions have produced a gem of a show here and if you have ever been fascinated by Greek Mythology [as I have in the past] then you should go and see Full Circle to help you fill in the gaps of your imagination about these four pivotal figures.