Classics Play 2012 – ‘Medea’ by Euripides
Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd March 2012
Although it was first performed two-and-a-half millennia ago, Medea remains one of the most shocking tragedies of all time. It tells the story of a woman whose anger and vengeful pride drove her to commit the worst crime a woman can: to kill her own children.
The cause of her anger is Jason, more famous in mythology for his expedition to Colchis in the Argo to capture the Golden Fleece. That he was successful was in no small part thanks to the help he received from Medea, a princess who possessed magic powers. After betraying her father, Medea returned to Greece with Jason (killing her own brother in the process) and they eventually arrive as refugees at the city of Corinth, where the play is set.
Once in Corinth, Jason (William Blanchard) leaves Medea (Lucy White), to marry Glauce, the daughter of Corinth’s king, Creon – a union which he insists will be in the best interests of their children as they get older. Medea is devastated by this and her situation worsens when Creon (Matthew Pomeroy) orders her to leave Corinth for ever. As her nurse (Poppy Stokes) and the chorus of Corinthian women become increasingly concerned about her state of mind, Medea, with the help of the King of Athens, Aegeus, (Thomas Camidge) devises a plan for the grisly course of her revenge.
Medea is a dramatic tour-de-force, a graphic exploration of the extremes to which a woman can be driven, and a bitter condemnation of the treatment of women in Greek society. Yet despite its age, it speaks powerfully about love, identity and the experience of refugees and outsiders. Medea will be performed in the Founder Hall at Nottingham High School on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd March at 7:30pm.
Tickets are free of charge and are available from the Classics Department now. Please email me on grant [dot] rcs [at] nottinghamhigh [dot] co [dot] uk to reserve your seats.
