Medusa

Andrew F | 18th May 2012 - 1:32 pm

Medusa

Medusa. Excellent costumes, atmospheric music, the actors have real stage presence and the choice of venue, The spiritualist Church, is inspired. From the outside it looks like a sinister government bunker and inside could easily pass as Knossos Palace with its un dressed stone walls and massive wooden door. Brighton festival wouldn't be the same without at least one retelling of a Greek Myth and Medusa certainly doesn't dissapoint. 'Medusa' is a Priestess in the temple of Aphrodite.She makes the mistake of inccurring the Goddess' wrath by her vanity, claiming to be better looking and more attractive than the Goddess herself .Big mistake.I'm having Deja Vu -in a good way- the similarity being with the story of Demeter and Persophone, which was performed in the festival a few years ago.To the uninitiated Aphrodite Goddess of Love is a superficial bimbo, pretty, certainly, but unintelligent and harmless. Wrong.She's an extremely jealous Goddess who doesn't like being upstaged in the looks department and dishes out horrendous punishments to those who don't get it. Medusa and her 2 sisters, The Gorgons, are turned into repulsive demonic traversties of femininity.Perseus aided by Athena Goddess of Athens and war is charged by King Polydeces a cameo of a bullying despot played by Carl Anderson, with the task of killing Medusa. He is ordered to present her severed head to him as a 'wedding present' for marrying his mother. A tall order given that Medusa has the power to turn men to stones when they look at her. We are given no doubt that Perseus is being set up to fail, but of course we know that he wins in the end. Sacha Cooper combines sultary decadence with genuine menace as Medusa and Sam Nixon's Aphrodite also shocks.Dressed in a white gown, tall and topped with a crown there is a nice contrast between her throwing rose petals as she walks and spitting out curses. The narration has a slight Gothic and 'Witchy' feel which lends itself well to the story.The masks and clothes are well made and thought out, and the Dances performed by the 'Gorgon Sisters' provide another angle to the story in themselves. Whats there not to like?

Theatregoer | 17th May 2012 - 7:11 pm

Horror comes to Brighton

An entralling performance by the talented local theatre company who brought us THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka last year, cleverly dramatized by Daniel Aherne. The title role is taken Sascha Cooper, ably supported by a very professional cast. If you liked The Trial then you certainly won't want to miss seeing Medusa,

wizard | 17th May 2012 - 2:06 pm

Medusa rocks

I was intrigued by this and not disappointed on the night, a tale of horror brought to life by an excellent group. If you like your creepy Greek history then this is for you.

mogga | 17th May 2012 - 1:48 pm

magnificient medusa

A really stunning performance of an ancient mystical tale - this delivers exactly what it promises in the blurb - acting/dancing/writing is of a high professional standard - I was really surprised just how enthralling this was - miss it you shouldn't!!!