Review: Medea, Coronet Theatre

The Coronet presents a dazzling retelling of Euripides’ classic Medea, with a stunning production set in Japan’s Meiji era. Created and directed by Satoshi Miyagi, Artistic Director of SPAC (Shizuoka Performing Arts Centre), and performed in Japanese with English subtitles by an ensemble cast of 16, it is a loud (even in silence), vibrant and unforgettable experience.

Subtitles show on monitors either side of the stage and on a back screen. The set design (Junipei Kiz) fits within the faded plaster of the Coronet’s historical space; a bare stage dominated by a towering bookshelf and books tottering on the edge. A bright mural textile backdrop acts as rolled screen exits and entrances. It also conceals onstage percussive instruments.

The Meiji era setting incorporates Western influences of growing industrialisation, nationalisation and colonial violence: it’s a time where women, especially immigrants like Medea, had little agency – marriage their best option for financial security. 

The opening scene sets up the patriarchal hierarchy powerfully and memorably. Eight female characters slowly enter individually and face front. They are dressed in traditional kimonos, wearing canvas bags over their heads and their headshot hanging round their necks. Visually this is potent as male judges enter loudly to establish the male gaze by removing the bags and casting the roles of the play within the play. 

Medea’s tale is enacted by some of these female characters, portraying both genders, and the remaining become musicians playing live percussive music by Hiroko Tanakawa. In the late 19th-century Meiji setting, they perform to male diners in a Japanese restaurant.

Euripides’ familiar text finds Medea married to Jason, having betrayed her homeland to help him achieve success, but now facing exile because he wants to marry Glauce, daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. Medea pleads with Creon for one more day with her son, then consequently persuades Jason she has accepted her fate when actually she plans to poison both Glaunce and the king. The Nurse/Messenger tells the story of these deaths before Medea kills her own son and leaves. Here, it is only the ending that is reimagined. 

Euripides’ original is usually remembered for Medea committing the vengeful and terrible act of murdering her own children. Miyagi’s production acknowledges a timeless narrative by using original text rather than writing a new adaption, yet it is the context in which Miyagi places her, and the world that the characters inhabit, that make for new meaning and a nuanced rereading of Medea’s rage. And the whole production is rocked by her rage. She here has only one son, instead of two, underscoring both the significance of killing the male line of inheritance and increasing the poignant dynamic of love between mother and son, before the ultimate revenge of a woman betrayed, trapped and exiled is depicted. 

The production’s style is spectacular, blending experimental and traditional forms. Movement rooted in Kabuki is breathtaking, using ‘mie’ dramatic poses and dynamic storytelling aided by expressive makeup and sumptuous costumes (Kayo Takahashi Deschene). It offers a unique Japanese lens that echoes Bunraku puppetry traditions by casting two performers in the same role: Miyagi’s signature style uses the male performer as a ‘speaker’ and the female as ‘mover’. As the rage grows, the percussive music becomes louder, the male choral chants reach crescendo, and the emotional drama intensifies. It is this fusion of form and style that elevates the production.   

The last quarter of this intense production is mesmerising. Physical storytelling from Medea and her Son is heartbreaking and brutal, while the retelling of off-stage deaths by the Nurse/Messenger is additionally outstanding. Concluding powerfully, as the female characters symbolically take heightened control, Miyagi’s Medea is a hugely memorable theatrical experience.  

Cast: Micari, Kazunori, Yoneji Ouchi, Kouichi Ootaka, Yukio Kato, Yuumi Sakakibara, Yu Sakurauchi, Yuya Daidomumon, Miki Takii, Momoyo Tateno, Ayako Terauchi, Keita Mishima, Haruka Miyagishima, Fuyuko Moriyama, Maki Honda, Miyuki Yamamoto, Soichiro Yoshiue.

Directed by Satoshi Miyagi
Text by Euripides
Costume by Kayo Takahashi Deschene
Music by Hiroko Tanakawa
Set Design by Junpei Kiz
Sound Design by Yukino Sawada
Lighting Design by Koji Osako    

Medea is created and directed by Satoshi Miyagi with the support of The Agency of Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and is running at The Coronet Theatre until Saturday 21 June.