★★★★

Reviewer - Annie

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Medea contains flashing lights.

It’s quickly become a treat to know I’m returning to the dazzling Sohoplace. Not only for my admiration of the venue itself with its shining ceilings and ingenious stage, but as they continue to push boundaries with their diverse casting and modern reimagining of classic works.

The latest production to grace the stage is Euripides’ ‘Medea’, based on the 20th-century adaptation by Robinson Jeffers, directed by Dominic Cooke. Although the script used is not the original, Jeffers’ adaptation rings as close to it - so it still feels authentic.

Cooke clearly understood the power of Euripides’ play, and has chosen to honour the original whilst managing to make the production speak relevance into the modern era. The tragedies of ancient Greece are renounced to somewhat of a legendary status - being the first plays of our civilisation. They are the basis for all modern theatre, as the Greeks quite literally developed the art. However, over time, as more and more playwrights produce plays that speak to our generation, these ancient texts have been hidden from the mainstream. What I loved most about Cooke’s revival was that although it was true to tradition, it was wonderful to see how these ancient texts can still hold their own in the modern world, despite having been written thousands of years prior.

I must admit that I studied Classical Civilisation at uni so I do know the tragedies very well… which made the evening even more exciting to go in with some much pre-context. Not only do the tragedies provide wonderful drama and stories - they were all adapted from myths of the ancient world that many already knew before watching the plays. Again with ancient plays, they would have been performed at societal festivals, so they had their own traditions and motifs to include in their plays.

Without making this an essay in any capacity, I feel these are important points to highlight as so many of these traditional tools were used in this production of ‘Medea’ which applaud Cooke and the cast’s research and development of the play.

Sophie Okonedo stars in the title role - providing a beautifully studied portrayal of this wild woman. I am reluctant to call her the hero or the villain - I will leave that for the audience to decide. Okonedo offers stunning power, control and presence in her performance, and encaptures the audience’s attention with such ease.

As mentioned in my previous review at Sohoplace, I love the intimacy of the theatre, but this again offered benefits to Okonedo’s performance, making the room have all eyes and attention directly on her the entire time.

The staging and the venue felt very reminiscent of Greek/Roman oratory - how one person could hold court over an entire audience. This felt like a hugely successful use of the stage and auditorium.

Okonedo’s interpretation of Medea was so interesting. She starts by portraying a weak, feeble and uncertain woman - which feels miles away from the brutish force we understand Medea to be. However, as the story develops, this facade is stripped away as Medea becomes more certain of her plan and vengeance. We enter the second half of the play with a far more empowered and assured portrayal.

Although in the original Medea is portrayed from the start as this vengeful, evil woman - this translation of a woman gaining her strength as she becomes more hateful felt much more inline with modern understandings. Unlike the ancient world, we have a far better understanding of women in all aspects - so to see more nuanced character development was a wonderful addition and Okonedo brought so much intricacy and power.

I was interested to understand how the role of the chorus would be used, as having seen the small cast list - I was worried perhaps their impact would be lost by lack of numbers. However, Cooke’s use of the role is ingenious - bringing allusions to ancient oratory courts, and creating an immersive atmosphere (I don’t want to give too much away!).

Another interesting modern addition to the play was the use of blood (again I will not refer to specifics) as this would have been frowned upon in ancient performances - having been performed at religious festivals, blood would have been viewed as sacrilegious. I thought the introduction of blood not only brought the play to a more modern audience but massively heightened the pain and tragic nature of the play. It felt like the play took one step further, showing how hideous a topic we were witnessing.

I particularly loved Ben Daniel’s performance. Cooke chose to have one male portray all of the male roles. This felt hugely impactful, not only for the intrigue of Daniel’s talent to switch from one role to another but also because it placed a huge focus on the women in the show, something perhaps never celebrated in ancient tragedy before.

Daniel is on stage for the entire performance, constantly moving, but slowly moving from one character to the next. I loved this concept as it clearly showed the transition but also brought continual movement to the story, heightening the urgency where necessary.

It is no doubt of Daniel’s talent but this performance truly encapsulates his attention to detail and commitment to a role.

The staging of the show was equally as intelligent as it was simple. It symbolised a traditional ancient home but was effective in keeping the focus solely on the actors whilst still serving its purpose. The staging was beautifully designed but simplistic. It utilised the space excellently.

Soho Place is a wonderful venue, and although hugely modern, it is excellent to see its programme continue to stage more traditional plays. I still stand by my opinion that it feels like the perfect place to stage these types of shows, as it continues to draw in a younger/ larger crowd and I hope that this continues for many years.

Medea is performing at Sohoplace for a limited season until 22nd April 2023. Book your tickets now.