This production of Jean Racine's 17th Century classical drama benefits from a number of upgrades – a new, pared-down translation, some subtly observed performances and a rumbustious fight scene, among others. But its trump card – and it's an unbeatable one – is that it takes place in the bleak surroundings of Craigmillar Castle, a ruined medieval outpost on the southeasterly outskirts of Edinburgh.

Plays have been performed on location before Offstage Theatre decided on the format, but it's this peerless, ready-made 15th century set that transforms their interpretation of Phaedre tonight from simply good to something approaching, although not quite achieving, greatness - from the arresting opening in the shadow of the castle gates, where two men burst from a side gate, swords clanging in furious combat, to the battlement confrontation between Theseus (Seamus Newham) and his son Hippolytus (Henry Maynard). The setting itself delivers, in a way, the finest performance, mercilessly highlighting even the smallest of shortcomings elsewhere. Not that there are many – the pace occasionally sags a little, but that's about it.

The sense of place engendered by such an atmospheric setting is at times overwhelming, lending what is otherwise a commendable, but not remarkable, production a powerful, ethereal presence. When the resident pigeons roosting in the ruined eaves wheel noisily over the players during a pause in the dialogue, it almost seems like part of the script – although the effect is less magical when the outside world intrudes in the form of a helicopter a moment later. As the audience is led from one castle location to the next by impish guide Panope (Lisa McFarlane and Alana McFarlane), so the growing intrigue, untold shame and fateful delusions at the castle spiral into a gulf of yawning despair.

The despair in question centres around Phaedre (Cleo Sylvestre), wife of Theseus – King of Athens and legendary slayer of the Minotaur – who is absent and long-since feared dead. When his death is confirmed, his miserable queen, eternally tortured by her love for her stepson Hippolytus and seeing no option but to await her death, is persuaded by her attendant, Oenone (Fiona Watson), that the situation is a new beginning, and so declares her terrible, incestuous feelings to the prince. This doesn’t go down well with Hippolytus, who is in love with Aricia (Alison O’Donnell), the last surviving member of the tribe slain by Theseus to gain his crown - and Theseus isn’t dead, but on his way back to the castle.

So far, so soap opera – a torrid sequence of forehead-slapping misunderstandings and tragic betrayals the meat and potatoes of a performance that, though occasionally a little stagey and self-conscious, is muscular and effective for the most part. And the doom-laden chanting of the ever-present black-garbed chorus creates an air of palpable threat throughout. Seamus Newham successfully plays Theseus as an ageing, washed-up man, a shadow so caught up in his own paranoia and rage that he can’t see the truth until it's too late. Henry Maynard's performance as Hippolytus is a commendably shaded, touching and convincing portrayal of a young man who still hasn’t quite shed his adolescent impulsiveness. Cleo Sylvestre lends a suitably weighty presence as the all-consuming hurricane of Phaedre ('I am the object of celestial vengeance!'). It is Fiona Watson performance as Phaedre's scheming nursemaid Oenone that is the real highlight – a tortured, wincing, hand-wringing, tic-laden display of conflicting emotion and inner turmoil that brilliantly underlines the overall sense of impending calamity.

Only when the sun starts to set over the final denouement, in the castle’s torch-lined outer courtyard, does the mask slip slightly. The inevitable sequence of tragic dates with destiny seem rushed and ungainly. But it's such a beautiful view out towards the meadow below, where a single horse grazes - oblivious to all the mythological tumult and catastrophe going on nearby - that the overall experience, whether by accident or design, is quite sublime.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Chandrika Chevli – Chorus. Beth Cooper – Chorus. Cristina Crespo – Chorus. Graham Elwell – Theramenes. Emma King – Ismene. Lisa MacFarlane & Alana MacFarlane – Panope. Henry Maynard – Hippolytus. Seamus Newham – Theseus. Alison O’Donnell – Aricia. Heather Saunders – Chorus. Tara Siddall – Chorus. Cleo Sylvestre – Phaedre. Fiona Watson – Oenone. Adrienne Zitt – Chorus.

Company Credits: Writer – Jean Racine (1639-1699). Director/Adapter – Cressida Brown. Assistant Director – Siret Paju. Co-producer – Ella Hickson. Co-producer – Ellen McDougall. Composer – Daniel Saleeb. Translator – Daniel Curshen. Installation Designer – Alex Stone. Sound Director – Philip Nottingham. Costume Designer – Stella Scott. Costume Maker – Jenny Etherington. Costume Constructors (alpha order): – Katey Adeney, Emma Brierley, Becky Hayes, Hannah McMahon-Major, Asa Norling, Jade Morris, Rachel Young. Movement Director – Zoe Cobb. Researcher & Design Assistant – Daniel King. Dragon Makers – Emma Brierley & Asa Norling. Model Box Maker – Andrew Robinson. Community Designer – Janis Hart. Fight Director – Brent Young. Flyer Designer – Chris Perkin. Company - Offstage Theatre. www.offstage.org.uk

END

(c) Dan Geary 2007

reviewed Thursday 9 Aug / C at Craigmillar Castle

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008