Seattle Shakespeare Company's "Medea"

(Medea by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (painted 1866-68))

The Seattle Shakespeare Company's production of Euripides' play "Medea" is brilliantly done. It takes up the story of Jason and Medea, 10 years after her help was crucial to him in obtaining the Golden Fleece. In the interim, she bore him two sons. But now Jason is planning to abandon Media for Glauce, the daughter of King Cleon.

This production is, as befits the material, a cry of raw pain and anger. It opens with the Nurse explaining Jason's betrayal of Medea. In another room seen only in shadow, Medea is clearly raging and destroying everything she can get her hands on. By the end of the play she HAS destroyed everything important to her in order to get revenge upon Jason. Although, to be fair it has to be pointed out that it was really the feckless Jason who began the destruction and Medea who followed through with its rather obvious consequences.

This being the first Greek play I have seen, the role played by the Chorus was very interesting. I was rather surprised at the extent to which the Chorus interacted with the play but it offered support for Medea's planned revenge...right up to the point where she decided to murder her two children. At that point, like a conscience she ought to listen to, they begin to try to reason with her and suggest that she not take her revenge to the point of killing innocents. But their efforts are to no avail: Medea follows through with her plans and leaves the stage a charnel house.

If you enjoy seeing a really good, cathartic tragedy, this is the play for you! I'm looking forward to being an usher for next weekend's performance so I can see it again...

Production Team

Kelly Kitchens (Director)
Donald Byrd (Choreographer)
Andrea Bryn Bush (Set Designer)
Chelsea Cook (Costume Designer)
Kent Cubbage (Lighting Designer)
Shenandoah Davis (Composer)
Robin Macartney (Props Designer)
Nina Trotto (Stage Manager).

Cast (in alphabetical order)

John Bianchi (Servant)
Maya Burton (Chorus)
Peter Crook (Kreon)
Yadira Duarte (Nurse)
Sunam Ellis (Chorus)
Sylvester F. Kamara (Jason)
Chelsea LeValley (Chorus)
Kevin McKeon (Aigeus)
Matt Sherrill (Tutor)
Alexandra Tavares (Medea)
Kathryn Van Meter (Chorus)
Lucy Weber (Chorus)
Dedra D. Woods (Chorus)