- Designed and directed by Brett Bailey
- Text by Oscar van Woensel in collaboration with Kuno Bakker
- and Manja Topper
- With Faniswa Yisa as Medea
Across Africa gangs of armed men crash through remote villages looking for booty, sex, adventure. Medea, a village priestess, follows Jason, the leader of one of these gangs to the backwater African headquarters of King Creon. Here isolation, abandonment and the violence of xenophobia drive her into depression with darkest repercussions…
In this startling in-the-round performance a group of immigrant Africans gathers to dramatise Medea’s tale of transcendence over the powers that marginalise and silence them; to enact a harrowing dramatic ritual as a protest against the adversity of their situation.
SEE THE ATTACHED PROGRAMME NOTES ON THE LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR DETAILS ON THE DRAMATISATION AND STAGING
Oscar van Woensel’s beautiful adaptation of the classical Greek myth is a fragmented stream of consciousness studded with the lyrics of pop songs. Bailey’s ritualistic interpretation draws inspiration from Haiti where he spent several months working in 2004.
A LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL TOUR OF medEia IS BEING PUT TOGETHER FOR 2012/13. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS EXTRAORDINARY PIECE PLEASE CONTACT US.
‘ ... medEia is Brett Bailey's anarchic masterpiece. It fulfils his ongoing quest for authentically theatricised African performance.’THE STAR
‘So thorough and consistent is Bailey's cultural transposition that the script seems custom written for this production …Bailey's most coherent and therefore best production to date.’MAIL & GUARDIAN
‘An exhilarating theatrical experience.’CAPE TIMES
‘Using ritual and cultural archetypes as part of the text, Bailey breaks down conventions, and blurs borders between art forms, as he creates explosively vibrant storytelling fuelled by corrosive choreography.’THE STAR
HISTORY:
- 2003: Wits University (Johannesburg)
- 2005: Spier Arts Summer Season (Cape Town)
AWARDS:
- The 2005 production on the Spier Estate was elected best South African production of the decade by the MAIL AND GUARDIAN (2010)
- The production was awarded a gold medal for best production design at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial (International Exhibition of Scenography and Theatre Architecture)