My overall impression
This show has some interesting ideas and creative thoughts, but seems unrealized. Jason and Medea are presented fairly one-sided, with Jason as a arrogant jerk and Medea as a crazy woman. The most dynamic character was the third actor playing one of the Argonauts. I would have liked to have seen more complex humanity in Jason and Medea, and more depth in their relationship. The script seemed to hit the same points over and over again. It felt like it was trying to be Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but without the same specificity.
Another big issue was the space. The sound bounces a lot in the theatre this show was in, and they didn’t adapt to the space. There was a lot of yelling, and throwing of props and set pieces which created an almost unbearable cacophony.
There were some really nice technical elements. The textures and colors of the world that was created were visceral and memorable. The puppets were very interesting, but I was unsure if they really needed to be there… at times it was distracting or didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the show. The background projection was beautiful. It might have been nice to see the actors show their environment through their acting though. Because this show deals with illusions of time and space, it might be more powerful done in a blank black box.
All in all, some interesting creative concepts. I’d like to see this show continue to be developed and explored!
