Welcome to Medea! This show was originally written by the great tragedian Euripides in the later part of the 5th century. At the time of its debut, it placed 3rd out of the three plays competing in the Greater Dionysian Festival. However, it very quickly gained a widespread popular and critical following and has been a mainstay of theatre aficionados ever since. Along with Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Electra, Medea defines the modern notion of what a Greek Tragedy is.
Originally written as an artistic sacrifice, it is easy to see why it would not be popular in its original incarnation. The play does not exemplify a god’s omniscience. It is a play with a lot of hard edges and open wounds. Like almost all Greek tragedies, it tries to balance the arguments between the two protagonists to fuel a debate about who is right and who is wrong. Unfortunately, the horror in Medea tends to overshadow the debate.
Throughout history the play has often been used to push a feminist or antifeminist agenda. In our version, we don’t wish to further either of these causes. There is plenty of wrong done by both Medea and Jason. Instead, we focus on the horror of domestic violence. Too many people today find themselves battling psychological and physical violence at home, and were this play written by Sophocles, Medea’s situation may have seemed inevitable. However, the same situation in the hands of Euripides becomes a crime that could and should have been stopped.
Adult relationships do not always work out, but when the parents cease putting their children ahead of their own differences the inevitable result is tragedy. Jason claims to love his children, but does little more than show them off for his social advancement. Medea claims a love for her children, but insists on placing Jason’s oath breaking and infidelity ahead of their existence. Sadly, the result is a loss of not just pride, but of the only thing that could validate their love in the first place – the children.
A clockwork heart can still break, and when it does break, the metal shards look no different than shrapnel.
-J. Glenn McMahon
