medEia is based on Medea (431 BC) by Euripides (c 480-406 BC). It was written in 1998 by Oscar van Woensel. This production is set on the top floor of one of the few tall buildings in Cork. The cast of three (alpha order: Louis Lovett, Gina Moxley, Tadhg Murphy) wear white suits, and move around white block tables and chairs, with a bank of TV screens in the background. The story is delivered by the cast as a chorus, mostly in the third person. Main characters are represented by dolls, which the actors move around like chess pieces, occasionally (as the story demands) subjecting them to ghastly mutilations.

With this theatre at one remove from the action, the production may be trying to make a statement about how disconnected the modern, consumerist and media-driven society has made people from love - a concept which has been hopelessly idealised. While this may be an interesting statement, the format of the production ends up disconnecting the audience from the story.

The actors (particularly Gina Moxley) do a good job with the format - sometimes taking on the personality of the characters - but the use of the dolls makes the characters seem unreal, and therefore unimportant. The play may be trying to show the superficiality of modern society, but it does so at the expense of audience engagement. There are several interesting devices - such as the use of a fish tank with swaying water to represent a sailing ship, or the imposition of Medea's doings into a 24-hour news broadcast. But the use of pop song lyrics in the script appears more like cleverness for its own sake.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Louis Lovett - Chorus. Gina Moxley - Chorus. Tadhg Murphy - Chorus. Recorded Musicians (alpha order): Eamonn Cagney - Percussion. Carolyn Goodwin - Clarinet & Saxophone. Mel Mercier - Various Instruments. Oran O'Reilly - Guitar.

Company Credits: Writer - Euripides (c 480-406 BC; original writer of Medea, 431 BC). Writer - Oscar van Woensel (this reworking of the original, 1998). Composer - Mel Mercier. Director - Pat Kiernan. Set and Lighting Director - Paul Keogan. Lighting Designer - uncredited. Sound Designer - Stevie Jones. Video Designer - Jack Phelan. Costume Designer - Joan Hickson. Technical Operator - uncredited. Sound Operator - Kieran Prendergast. Production Manager - Joe Stockdale. Stage Manager - John Grubb. Production Assistant - Joe McNicholas. Assistant Stage Manager - Ruairi O’Donovan. Costume Assistant - Olivia Beechinor. Suit Tailor - Sean Jackson. Music recorded at – Ray Barron Studios, Cork. Producer - uncredited. Company - Corcadorca Theatre Company.

END

(c) Colman Higgins 2009

reviewed Saturday 27 June 09 / Vertigo Lounge, Cork County Hall, Cork, Republic of Ireland

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com