THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS
AIRDATE: September 05, 2003
Two murderous
women have taken up residence at Sledgehammer Theatre. Inspired by Greek
legend, each of them has a rather warped morality. One is based on the Medea
myth about a woman who, spurned by a husband she literally killed to protect,
wreaks vengeance by murdering their two young sons. In the ancient account of
Phaedra, she was the victim of acrimony among the gods. Aphrodite made her fall
in love with her young stepson. In name and basic details, the two very modern,
feminist adaptations bear resemblance to the originals. But they are disturbing
stories of our own era that turn the timeless tales inside out.
In Marianne
McDonald’s world premiere, “Medea, Queen of Colchester” is a black South
African transvestite whose ‘husband’ is a smooth but sleazy thug who works in
Las Vegas. When he takes a young, more potentially lucrative bride, Medea is
multiply offended: the new wife is younger, female, straight, white and
privileged. So the crazed response is less about honor than a rant against
ageism, racism, sexism and imperialism. Medea exacts her revenge, but the act
loses some of its original horror, because these are not her children, not
flesh of her flesh.
In Susan
Yankowitz’s “Phaedra in Delirium,” the title character is frenzied from
forbidden love. But mostly, she’s obsessed with the sagging, asexual
invisibility of middle age. So her passion for her stepson has nothing to do
with the gods, but is driven by her own self-serving effort to recapture her
youth; she becomes enamored of a younger version of her husband and by
extension, herself. It makes the play a lot less lofty, and much more
self-involved than the earlier recountings of Euripides or Racine. Furthermore,
Phaedra’s Friend, who encourages her to reveal herself to her stepson and later
to accuse him to his father, are either motivated by nefarious design or yet
another unhealthy ardor. Either is likely in this enigmatic play.
Both
productions, running in repertory and co-directed by Kirsten Brandt and David
Tierney, are beautiful and imperfect. The stage pictures, enhanced by David
Cuthbert’s lighting, are often breathtaking. But the directorial inventiveness
sometimes interferes. Some wonderful performances fuel the creations, notably
Ruff Yeager in “Medea” and Robin Christ in “Phaedra.” Both plays show, once
again, how endlessly intriguing these 2500 year-old stories are. See them along
with Sledgehammer’s September series, ‘Vox Hellenic,’ a collaboration with the
Grass Roots Greeks that pairs traditional translations with very modern
adaptations.
If it’s all
Greek to you, it won’t be for long.
©2003 Patté Productions Inc.