MEDEA

Quotes from Medea

Extract 1

Creon, King of Corinth, is berating Medea for her jealous behaviour after Jason has left her to marry Creon’s daughter.

Creon: (to Medea) So much anger!  So much venom!  And such threats against my son-in-law!  Medea, I can’t trust you.  I can’t let you stay.  I’ve made arrangements for your deportation – now.  Immediately.  You and your sons with you.  I am both judge and jury.  There is no appeal.

The blunt truth?  I don’t trust you.  I’m afraid of what you might do to my daughter.

You’re a clever woman.  Some say you’re a witch.   And now that Jason’s tired of you, you feel insulted.

I hear you’re making threats.  Against me, Jason and my daughter.  And so, I must ensure our safety.  I’d rather have you hate me now than compromise, then later, in the face of tragedy, regret.

Extract 2

Fourth choral ode as Medea’s sons present Glauce with the poisoned dress.

Chorus:         

hope
no hope
hopelessness

hope
no hope
hopelessness

hope
no hope
just death

death
in a golden coronet
death
in a gauzy veil
death
in a dress of organdie

death’s fingers
soft
seductive in
a lovers
cool caress

death
in a blooded sheet
death
in a winding sheet
death
in a snowy shroud
of shrivelled organie

so take my hand
and dance with me
my love

my hand is cool
so dance with me
my love

and all the world
will dance with me

the last
slow dance
of death

Extract 3

The Messenger is describing the death of Princess Glauce, killed by a poisoned dress given to her by Medea.

Messenger:   When Jason and the boys had gone, she took the dress, so shimmering, so pure, and wrapped it round her.  She put on the golden coronet and took a mirror in her hand and in its brightness bunched her curls and laughed to see the lifeless image of her face reflected there.  And so, bare-foot, she walked from room to room, so softly, airily, enraptured by your gifts; and as she walked she arched her back and gazed in admiration at her loveliness.

But then – so sudden and so horrible!   The colour draining from her; and she staggering and stumbling, her limbs all shaking uncontrolled; she would have fallen, sprawled headlong, but somehow found a chair and sank down huddled in it.

One of her servants, an old woman, thought the anger of a god, of Pan, had settled on her and she raised the ritual wail to ward off evil.  But then she saw the white saliva seeping from her mouth, she saw the girls’ eyes twisting up, contorted, in their sockets and her bloodless skin.  Her ritual wail became a scream that froze the soul.

Extract 4:

This extract is the opening speech of the play.

Nurse: (to audience) What a mess!  What a mess!  Why couldn’t Jason just have stayed at home?  Why did he have to sail out to the world’s end with his Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece?  And even then, there were so many chances for his ship to sink, to run aground, to disappear forever in the icy mists that snake and coil across the empty sea.  But no.  He found us.  What a mess!

Fate!  Maybe it was fate that made it happen.  Maybe it was fated that the moment that Medea saw him she would burn for him, those long, long nights when she would lie awake and ache for him, her loins on fire, the fever of her lust so strong the lightest gauze against her skin was more than she could bear.  She would have died for him.  Instead she killed for him.  Oh, what a mess!

                                  

On Friday the 15th of November at 2.30, we went to the Rose theatre in London, Kingston to watch the play Medea. Which was directed by Abigail Anderson.

Main Characters:

Tamsin Shasha - Medea
 Evan Downie - Jason & Ensemble
Dickon Savage - Creon, Aegeus & Ensemble
Bethan Clark - Glauce & Ensemble
Natalia Campbell - Nurse & Ensemble

Production team:

Adapted by David Stuttard
Aerial Choreographer - Jaime Quarrell
Lighting Design - Katherine Williams
Sound Design - Matt Eaton
Set and Costume Designer - Dora Scweitzer

The interesting thing about this production of Medea is they used harnesses to convey Medea's slow descent into madness, which I felt was very effective.

The Production’s Plot or Narrative                      Remember to do these questions!

 

ü    How did the production tell the story

 

ü    Did you find the story convincing?

 

ü    Which bits of the story worked best?

 

ü    Did any moments stir your emotions – made you laugh or feel sad or scared?

 

The Production’s Plot or Narrative

 

ü    How did you feel about the characters?

 

ü    Did the production seem to try to send the audience a message or make a certain point? What was it?  

 

ü    Did the production hold the audience’s interest? At all times? How? If not, why?

 

Set Design

 

ü    How appropriate was this particular set to the production you saw and to the space it was being performed in?

 

ü    Did anything about the set particularly catch your eye?

 

ü    Discuss the interaction of the design and the performers. Some sets can free up actors on stage and give them areas to play on or with. Some sets limit the performances of actors. Especially important if a set has doors, levels, rakes or items of scenery that are flown in from above

 

The Lighting & Sound

 

ü    Describe how lighting was used to create atmosphere

 

ü    What did the lighting add to the production?

 

ü    Were there any special effects that particularly stood out for you in terms of the creation of mood or place?

 

 

The Lighting/Sound/Design

 

ü    Was there an obvious use of soundtrack, special effects or music.

 

ü    How was sound used in the production? Did a soundtrack add to or create setting, mood or atmosphere? Was there any music?

 

Did the productions choices (lighting/sound) add to your understanding or enjoyment? If so; when and how?

 

ü     Design -What did you think about the costumes/props?

Did they help actors in their performance?

   Did they help to express the characters or themes of the production?

   Did any actor excel in using them to show you what kind of person they are?

   Describe the setting or main features of scenery.

Actors/Performance/Characters

 

ü     Comment on important characters. How did you rate the actors?

Describe voice and movement choices

How did the actors use their bodies differently to show the characters and how they felt?

 

ü     Character interaction -Did any actors use particular movements to express feelings or status to other actors? Where did they position themselves on the stage?  What things did the actors do that particularly impressed you?

 

ü  Give examples of good and bad things about voice, gesture and movement throughout the play?