Studio One, Malvern – until 9th August 2024
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
5*****
Malvern Theatres incomparable Young Company regales us with Medea – in a presentation intriguingly advertised on the programme as “freely adapted from Euripides” by Robinson Jeffers. I cannot testify to how close it is to the original, but I can bear witness to how fantastic it was.
Performed in Studio One (the theatre’s most intimate performance space), the set was economy personified with some Greek columns scattered around and some evocative lighting and sound effects. Like in previous productions by the company, this focuses the attention on the important part – the actors and the dialogue – and it’s all the better for it.
Our first character enters onto this stark stage; Georgina Sockett (playing the Nurse), alone, delivering her dialogue to helpfully set the scene of this tale from antiquity. I loved Georgina’s acting – it was dramatic without being melodramatic, her delivery was sheer perfection and she was thoroughly convincing as someone who cared deeply but, other than offering sage counsel, was powerless to avert the oncoming disaster. Beautifully pitched.
Mia Field gave us an assured Medea which was even more impressive given that this was her first professional role – I would never have guessed it (but I found myself sat with one of her drama teachers, there to support her, so got some inside knowledge). As the story’s journey took her through despair, anger and revenge onto gleeful madness, by it’s conclusion she had given us genuine passion and weariness in all the right quantities and places. A powerful performance that promises much from this new star in the Malvern firmament.
Toby Burchell is never anything less than a pleasure to watch. In every performance I have seen him in he has commanded the stage and shone – and this production was no exception. He played various unnamed persons from Corinth – and as such his role fell somewhere between narrator and vox populi. Brilliant as ever, I love watching this actor
All the cast were equally assured with Bertie Bird (playing the dual roles of Aegeus and Tutor), Finn Meredith (as Creon and Slave) and Oliver O’Neill (as Jason) all giving convincing, enjoyable portrayals. Oliver’s anguish at the culmination of the play was particularly effective and moving, especially when contrasted against Medea’s total lack of contrition.
Diverse characters were conjured via some skillfully deployed and carefully chosen accessories – like scarves or headgear/masks. The ladies’ costumes were particularly elegant! As with the scenery, this was a study in how to effectively achieve a lot from meagre resources – so kudos to Bridget Lloyd (Costume Designer) and Melissa Sanders (Costume Assistant) for a fantastic job.
This tale of woe is a study in retaliation, retribution and revenge that is loosed like the proverbial Kraken in an unfocused orgy of violence and madness. How sad that its universal truths and lessons are as apt for our own times (with the ongoing Gaza war and the current riots in the UK) as they were nearly 2,500 years ago, when Euripides put pen to papyrus. A salutary lesson through the ages.
Another fantastic evening’s entertainment at Malvern, from this exceptionally talented company giving us the rare chance to catch a bona fide classic. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Μπράβο (that’s Bravo in Greek).