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Medea (Elliot, trans.)

Full-Length Play, Melodrama  /  5w, 5m, 2 any gender (youth)

Alistair Elliot, Euripides

Translated by Alistair Elliot

"A startling production of searing immediacy." - Newsweek
"We sit mesmerized...as Euripides gives us a lesson in what theater is all about." - The New York Times

Medea (Elliot, trans.)

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5w, 5m, 2 any gender (youth)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature), Adaptation (Stage & Screen), Period
  • Suggested Use
    • Cutting Approved for Competition
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)

Details

Summary

Medea finds herself wronged by her husband Jason when he marries the King's daughter. She is banished by the King, Creon, but fatally, he gives her one day to prepare for her departure, 'one day,' he says, 'is too short a time to do us harm.' Racked with grief and anger and hatred, Medea undertakes the horrendous act of revenge that see the death of Jason's new wife, and, most brutally, of her own children.

History

Diana Rigg starred in this major triumph in London and on Broadway winning the Tony Award as Best Actress of the season.

Cast Attributes
Performing Groups

M5 (50s, middle-aged, old) F2 (middle-aged, old). Greek chorus. 2 children.

  • Setting

    Various exterior settings

  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Gripping Greek tragedy...in a juicy translation that's made for our modern age...Medea is indeed a kind of thrill ride, propelling us helplessly along, careening on the edge of precipices from which we get fearful glimpses of the darkness of human nature. This production uses a muscular, invigorating translation by the British poet Alistair Elliot. It has a directness, a freshness that makes the play seem quite contemporary...It has an elemental power." - New York Daily News

"High powered...classic theatre that should not be missed." - New York Post

"A startling production of searing immediacy." - Newsweek

"We sit mesmerized...as Euripides gives us a lesson in what theater is all about." - The New York Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Author
Euripides

Euripides

Euripides (c. 480 – c. 406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose full plays have survived. Of the more than 90 plays attributed to Euripides, 18 are extant in full: Alcestis, Medea, ...
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