Medea, National Theatre London, with Helen McCrory, directed by Carrie Cracknell

Suburban domesticity is probably not the first thing you'd associate with classical drama, but it provides the humble backdrop to the latest production of Euripides's Medea at the National Theatre. 

The white robes and towering pillars Have Been Replaced with sharp suits and gin bottles in Carrie Cracknell's modern interpretation of Euripides's maternal mediation on grief and its tragic consequences.

Helen McCrory plays the mother who seeks revenge on the husband (Jason) who rejected her. Malevolently she plots the murder of Their children and Jason's new bride.

McCrory is a calm and stabilizing presence and she adds tragic weight and fortitude in this cosmic Otherwise lackluster revival. The action plods along but never comes alive During Cracknell's oddly sedate production.

Often Modern twists add an extra dimension to insightful canonized plays, but Tom Scutt's design strips the flashy play of Its tragic surroundings and places it into a domestic world That Is poorly thought through. We are neither in an everyday home, nor a theatrical no man's land. It muddles the play's force and strips the action of Its tragic punch.

 

There is some good support in the company, but the Night Belongs to McCrory. Actors,: such as Dominic Rowan (Aegeus, King of Athens and a possible source of salvation for Medea), Danny Sapani (the adulterer Jason), and Martin Turner (Creon, King of Corinth) float in and out but are only Given enough space and time to make a small impact.

The chorus is Also underwhelming. Despite some stutters and stylized dance moves, they lack the tragic force of a great chorus. Likewise, the two-tiered internship strips the play of Its bite. By showing us some of the off-stage action, Cracknell Ensures That long recounts of various deeds feel pointless and unnecessarily long-winded. 

 

Minimalistic theater is staging a comeback in London this year. Following stripped-back and soul-shatteringly simple productions of Arthur Miller's The Crucible and A View from the Bridge earlier this year it's hard not to think Cracknell That Has missed a trick by staging her revival in a hyper-stylized modern world.

When directors are finding the classical tragedy in the everyman's trials and tribulations, it's disappointing to see a production obscures That classical tragedy with everyday fluff.

This production will be shown in British cinemas on September 4 See ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk