Greek myths are difficult to play, especially in small theatres. Without the grandeur of stage set, they could easily be regarded as irrelevant; in which case, it relies heavily on the actors to translate the emotional connection, strong enough to draw the audience into the story because emotions are the things that we as human all share in common, regardless the space and the era.

In Theseus is Dead by The Effort, it is all about the human emotions – love, desire, betrayal, guilt, shame, loyalty, jealousy… There is no magic trickery by Aphrodite (as there was in the original version), only real human struggles (a lot of them!) neatly fit into the 60-minute adaptation, which is only possible by interweaving scenes with clever staging without confusing the audience.

Words, the beauty of spoken words. The play is built upon the abundance of classical verses, which depends fully on the actors to act every word in order to maintain the full attention from the audience. The roles of Phèdre (Charlotte Mafham) and Oenone (Sibylle Bernardin) were extraordinary in this aspect, fully engaging the audience to hear their stories. This might also explain the fact that in the end I have come to sympathise these two characters the most even though they are both supposed to be the “villain” who rightfully deserve their death. The emotional and moral struggles of Phèdre were so powerfully portrayed that she became a real woman rather than just a mythical figure. Oenone’s ultimate loyalty toward Phèdre leading to her own corruption and tragedy was played with such force that she, the nurse, in fact is the key figure leading Phèdre’s every decision which moves the story forward.

The role of Aricia (Ceridwen Smith) provides an interesting contrast; seemingly innocent in the white dress comparing to everyone else in dark colours but wins in the end somehow didn’t seem so innocent after all. Theseus is Dead is heading to Edinburgh Fringe and will be playing throughout the month of August.

• Oenone – Sibylle Bernardin
• Ismene – Catherine Copley
• Phèdre – Charlotte Mafham
• Hippolytus – Morgan Rhys
• Aricia – Ceridwen Smith

Creative Team

• Director – Vanessa Pope
• Producer – Jon Rowe
• Set Designer – Harriet de Winton
• Costume Designer – Ros Marshall
• Lighting Designer – Anna Barrett
• Music – Effort