Putting one of history’s most notorious family breakdowns under the microscope, Black Swan presents Medea by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks at Studio Underground from 10 August 2019.
Locked in their bedroom, two brothers play games to pass the time, as siblings do. Off-stage, their parents are having a very famous showdown. At an inevitable moment, the children will be drawn away from their games and into their parents’ bitter argument. From there, they will enter mythology as the most tragic siblings of all time.
Smart, sharp and bittersweet. It is to Euripides’ Medea what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is to Hamlet: a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of minor characters before the central plot takes over.
“The play you are about to see is still Medea at heart, but for the first time ever we get to hear the children speak,” says Co-writer, Kate Mulvany. “We get to see them play. We get to see them laugh and tease and cry and examine their own existence.”
“More importantly, we get to spend their last hour on earth with them when no-one else in history has. We become the community they needed…”
Medea originated at Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre in 2012 before having a London season in 2015 at Gate Theatre. It was met with widespread critical acclaim and received multiple awards, including the five Sydney Theatre Award in 2012, including Best New Australian Work and the 2013 Australian Writers Guild Award for Best Stage Play.
“A radical update… that genuinely makes us see an old play through new eyes.” – The Guardian
Director: Sally Richardson Featuring: Jalen Hewitt, Lachlan Ives, Jack Molloy, Alexandria Steffensen, Jesse Vakatini Set & Costume Design Concept: Bryan Woltjen Set & Costume Design Realisation: Tyler Hill Lighting Designer: Lucy Birkinshaw Sound Designer & Vocal Coach: Melanie Robinson Movement Director: Laura Boynes Fight Director: Lawrence Hassell Adaptation: Kate Mulvany, Anne-Louise Sarks
Medea
Studio Underground – State Theatre Centre of WA. William Street, Perth
Season: 10 – 25 August 2019 (preview: 9 August)
Information and Bookings: www.bsstc.com.au
Image: Alexandria Steffensen – photo by Richard Jefferson