Venue: Jericho Arts Centre
Dates: February 1-24, 2002
Reviewer: Jane Penistan
Anouilh's modern version of the Greek myth of Medea
retains all the terror, horror and inevitability of the Greek tragedy.
Like the Greeks, Anouilh has all the really gory killing done offstage
and reported by messengers. By this means the full horror is realized
by a witness and the effect of that experience adds horrifying
intensity to the recounting of the deed. This is a well-known, often
employed theatrical device and is by far the best way for a playwright
to shock the audience into appreciating the full horror of the murder
or mutilation.
In this production, the inexperienced director, Kendra Fanconi, has
not trusted the wisdom of the text and has tried to improve on it by
introducing shadow shows to depict the tragic death scenes of both
Jason's new bride and Jason and Medea's two children. Unfortunately,
this is neither technically nor dramatically successful. The stark
white backdrop is the ideal tabula rasa for this drama, but the
addition of the mobile criss-crossing, moving wire lines becomes
distracting, and the hanging and taking down of laundry, tedious.
Not only is the director of this production inexperienced, the cast
are too. Both Medea and Jason are too young to have suffered all the
experiences which are retold in the dialogue, and not mature enough to
cope with the situation as it now presents itself. Medea (Nneka
Kidada Croal) struggles valiantly with her long speeches, but she is
never believable as a woman who has endured what she has reportedly
endured or steeled herself to commit the deeds of violence of her
past.
Jason (Tyler McClendon) appears as the good-looking, personable young
man Medea fell in love with ten years ago, not the hard bitten
Argonaut and ambitious perfidious wife-betrayer of this play. Kathleen
Dick, as the nurse, gives the most convincing performance of the
evening. She has an understanding of the text and a sensibility in
delivery which the other cast members lack. Jaime Ogden as the Boy,
who is the messenger, has the ingenuousness of youth and this gives
his performance credibility.
This production is a brave venture for United Players Company. An
opportunity has been given to an inexperienced director and young and
inexperienced actors to try their skills. This, for them, is a great
learning experience. They should be grateful to United Players for a
rare chance seldom afforded to aspiring directors and actors.
© 2002, Jane Penistan