Coldness was the real tragedy

MEDEA, Lowry, Salford

Much has been made in reviews of the powerful nature of the grief and vengeful anger of Medea, the wronged wife in killing her rival and her own children.

Truth is, Northern Broadsides’ latest production isn’t so much a relatively modern reading of the 2,400-year-old Greek tragedy, but more the apparent discovery of the world’s first play about a cold-hearted sociopath.

Twice-married playwright Euripides must have had a lot to get off his chest about marriage since in this searing drama Medea — in poet Tom Paulin’s short, wordy adaptation an “immigrant” — loses husband Jason (of Argonauts fame, played here by Oldham-area actor Andrew Pollard), turns cold-blooded revenge merchant, kills her rival then murders her own children to spite her husband.

This sort of murder is not unknown, but infanticide by vengeful parents is usually done in a pretty unbalance state. In Barrie Rutter’s production, Medea, supposedly out of her mind, doesn’t much show it in the cold, considered way she goes about getting her revenge.

Actress Nina Kristofferson’s actions as Medea are deliberate, her face calm and steely and her planning meticulous in advance of the deed, timed to occur just before Jason is summoned back to his former home to hear her “apology” for previous harsh words. There’s almost a smirk as she speaks. If this relative coldness is what Rutter wanted then it has some merit, for Paulin’s shortened version of the story never settles into its stride and remains superficial. Even the killings happen offstage.

Completed in a still seemingly slow-moving 85 minutes without an interval, it rarely reaches great dramatic heights of grief or depths of despair, and altogether seems rather wordy, long on monologue and short on interaction.

Rutter adds touches that add interest but aren’t earth-shattering: the chorus is cut to three local women who sing Bluesy snatches of dialogue, accompanying themselves on drums, harmonicas and saxophone; Fine Time Fontayne is a blunt King of Athens and Rutter himself a wily King Creon.

But none of them has much stage time compared with Kristofferson, which means one’s impression of her as Medea colours the entire experience. For me, it was slightly too cool to be that of a woman whose world has been destroyed, and who chooses to do likewise to those who destroyed it.