Review
And yet somehow …
November 22, 2024 by Dave Quayle
There’s a line in Allegorical, one of my favourite of pomes from mine own hand, which claims ‘Suddenly I flash I’m in a Cave in Ancient Greece”. A couple of weeks ago I was taken there again: a stunning couple of hours – not in a cave, mind, but a theatre space. Carabosse’s production of Medea; a Greek Tragedy by Euripides was quite an experience. Classy as the poster.
40-seater venue, a long hall, audience either side (always a worry being at the front), the action back and forth from end to end. Convincing period costume, and a masked populace of a Chorus of often sensual women (ancient social media), many/most of whom it transpired on close inspection were men (as they all would have been back in the day), an in your face shifting but not always agreed body of opinion, with some scary chanting on occasion. All made for quite an atmosphere. A woman wronged, what price a potentially dreadful vengeance? Great gruesome – if off stage – drama, I regretted the spoiler alert of my own making of doing a bit of pre-show plot checking … not that, in the end, it was all resolved … this was Carabosse after all.
For a couple of the performance the audience saw different members of the company in the roles of Jason (he of the Argonauts, I saw the tall one as opposed to the less tall one) and King Creone, which, I am told – quality not being compromised – made it something of a different play. The traditional text before Carabosse got its hands on it has Medea, with a nod from some of the gods, retiring to Athens; here, after the deed, she joins the Sirens in full face gold mask: ambiguity rules. Fair enough. Can’t rid myself of the lingering thought of how does Classical Greek drama relate to contemporary domestic tragedies involving families, where police are reported saying they’re not looking for anyone else.
Plaudits: you can’t not praise Danielle Kushner’s performance enough – righteousness, pride, a guile fuelled by hurt, a glimpse of the charmer. Mark Denman’s songs, both solo songs and ensemble pieces worked so well, moving things along and adding some depth and context as appropriate. Carabosse is a collective enterprise, but the imagination of artistic director Sally Luff has to be given a great shout.
All this just a five-minute walk down the road. Hey, Stony Stratford! You can find more about Carabosse and Medea
And yet somehow …
November 22, 2024 by Dave Quayle
There’s a line in Allegorical, one of my favourite of pomes from mine own hand, which claims ‘Suddenly I flash I’m in a Cave in Ancient Greece”. A couple of weeks ago I was taken there again: a stunning couple of hours – not in a cave, mind, but a theatre space. Carabosse’s production of Medea; a Greek Tragedy by Euripides was quite an experience. Classy as the poster.
40-seater venue, a long hall, audience either side (always a worry being at the front), the action back and forth from end to end. Convincing period costume, and a masked populace of a Chorus of often sensual women (ancient social media), many/most of whom it transpired on close inspection were men (as they all would have been back in the day), an in your face shifting but not always agreed body of opinion, with some scary chanting on occasion. All made for quite an atmosphere. A woman wronged, what price a potentially dreadful vengeance? Great gruesome – if off stage – drama, I regretted the spoiler alert of my own making of doing a bit of pre-show plot checking … not that, in the end, it was all resolved … this was Carabosse after all.
For a couple of the performance the audience saw different members of the company in the roles of Jason (he of the Argonauts, I saw the tall one as opposed to the less tall one) and King Creone, which, I am told – quality not being compromised – made it something of a different play. The traditional text before Carabosse got its hands on it has Medea, with a nod from some of the gods, retiring to Athens; here, after the deed, she joins the Sirens in full face gold mask: ambiguity rules. Fair enough. Can’t rid myself of the lingering thought of how does Classical Greek drama relate to contemporary domestic tragedies involving families, where police are reported saying they’re not looking for anyone else.
Plaudits: you can’t not praise Danielle Kushner’s performance enough – righteousness, pride, a guile fuelled by hurt, a glimpse of the charmer. Mark Denman’s songs, both solo songs and ensemble pieces worked so well, moving things along and adding some depth and context as appropriate. Carabosse is a collective enterprise, but the imagination of artistic director Sally Luff has to be given a great shout.
All this just a five-minute walk down the road. Hey, Stony Stratford! You can find more about Carabosse and Medea