#dci2022

I am a student of the University of Hull blogging as part of my assessment for the module Drama, Conflict and Identity. All views expressed here are my own and do not represent the university.

Adapting Ibsen

Based on the incredible stage play by Henrik Ibsen ‘the father of realism, ‘A Doll’s House’ which was released in December of 1879 was adapted to TV audiences in 1992. A Doll’s House became one of the most performed plays of the early 20th century, which would give the idea that matching this success would be difficult. However, I believe it was beautifully adapted onto the screen by Thacker, remaining extremely faithful to the original content all the while changing dialogue and action to better fit the play into a film.

As previously mentioned, Thacker remained faithful to a multitude of factors from the original play. The film isn’t a modern take on the play, it stays rooted in the patriarchal society of 1879 which I believe helps a modern audience understand and view the patriarchal values held by Torvald and even unseen characters like Nora’s Father which were imprinted into Nora. I feel a modern setting whilst still showing these factors would’ve struggled to highlight them as much as the 19th-century setting does. More examples of Thacker’s faithful adaptation of Ibsen’s work can be found in the still usage of Naturalist factors in the work. For example, the original focused on 5 main characters. This focus allows for them to be individualised and focused on rather than having a spread of characters with a limited time to explore them individually. The media of television even allows us to have a greater insight onto the characters than we might have in the play. For example, the opening scene where Nora returns with an array of items she’s bought, despite being in the room with Torvald the camera often pans to her when she’s playfully moving around, chattering like a squirrel to him. This focus lets us see Nora for what she will later become when she leaves Torvald, we understand that despite what’s been hammered into her she still defies what a ‘proper wife’ should be and plays around to our face in the camera. Staging is also an important factor when trying to turn the limited stage into an expansive film set. Original plays of ‘A Doll’s House’ for example may have had a large imposing door, to stress the decision Nora makes at the end of the play to leave Torvald, how it breaks the ideas set by the patriarchy: “The street door is slammed shut downstairs.”.

(Citing in image description)

However in the film, we never actually see the door slam, we simply hear its impact as the long and winding staircase is shown to show the journey she will embark on as she stops living for other men, and discovers herself. A brilliant portrayal of the impactful scene. Containing the impact within the sound, instead of the action. The media adaptation even allows the original creative set design of Naturalist theatre to be fully utilised, with a camera that can navigate the three-dimensional space that was already created by the semi-circle-like stages that allowed 19th-century audiences to gage the realness and space of A Doll’s Houses set, making it more real and impactful. Now we are literally taken through Nora and Torvald’s house instead.

Challenging Identity

Nora is a character who relates directly to the idea of challenging identity, and breaking stereotypes and cycles, since she’s been stuck in one herself. The scene in which Nora realises this and expresses her feelings to both Torvald and in a way her deceased father isn’t just a brilliantly adapted scene but is also incredible within the original material. From Ibsen’s ‘A great wrong has been done to me’, to Thacker’s ‘I have been greatly wronged, Torvald.’. Both versions of this scene directly encapsulate the title of the play, ‘A Doll’s House’. Nora expresses her feelings on both the impacts of her father and Torvald, how all she’s done is played the role of their doll, their daughter and wife. ‘I’ve been your doll child here just as I’ve been papa’s doll child at home’ and ‘I’ve been your doll-wife, just as I used to be papa’s doll-child.’ These two slightly different versions of the same line from the play and film is the moment that Nora breaks away.

The tarantella dance that she previously performs, she realises was like Torvald puppeting her for his amusement, the dance itself was a dance supposedly performed to shake the poison of a spider bite from the body. In that similar sense, she’s turned the dance from an amusement to Torvald to now her shaking his and her father’s influence from herself and thus adding to why she’s able to slam the door shut not just on the house but on the very foundation of their marriage. Torvald even claims when Nora stresses her point that ‘Playtime shall be over, and lesson-time shall begin.’ Not only admits how he’s been amusing himself but further preaches that he shall still be the one to teach her, showing still that he is trying to influence her and change Nora to his own liking. In the original play, Torvald responds to these comments by claiming that she’s a ‘blind, foolish woman’, however, I believe it’s the film’s version of the line which reflects Torvald’s true opinions even more, calling her a ‘poor blind, inexperienced creature.’ This line alone summarises his view of what she is, and what he’s always referred to Nora as throughout the play, a ‘creature’ or more specifically his constant re-iteration of a bird. A small creature he keeps in a cage, to feed and look after. As a woman not just in ‘his’ society, but ‘his’ house he feels she can know no better, but Nora breaks through this and still leaves him.

The slamming of the door is like the shattering of her previous identity as just a woman, doll, or creature, now she can finally move on and become her own being, not classified by anything anybody wants her to be: “I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being, just as you are- or, at all events, that I must try and become one.’ Ibsen and Thacker both want us to break the stereotypes and identities that we’re locked in, and do it beautifully through Nora. ‘Ibsen’s message to you is – if you are a member of society, defy it; if you have a duty, violate it, if you have a sacred tie, break it, if you have a religion, stand on it instead of crouching under it.’ According to AS Byatt with the Guardian Newspaper, Ibsen once wrote: "A mother in modern society, like certain insects, retires and dies once she has done her duty by propagating the race." Ibsen was an incredible Naturalist playwright who in a time when many may have gone against his ideals, still spoke them through the means of his art.

Bibliography

Ibsen, H. and Duncan, S. (2020) A Doll’s House (Student Editions). London: Methuen Drama; 3rd edition.

A Doll’s House (1992) Directed by David Thacker. BBC 2

No artist or date is stated for Proscenium Theatre figure. Can be accessed on: https://sites.google.com/site/kelleytheatrescavengerhunt/home/proscenium-theatre

I am a student of the University of Hull blogging as part of my assessment for the module Drama, Conflict and Identity. All views expressed here are my own and do not represent the university.

Student Number: 202208874

The origins of theatre can be traced back to many ancient civilisations, however more notably, the ancient Greeks are often credited with the invention of modern theatre; theatre has evolved and is still evolving into a vibrant art form, but it still draws upon the same techniques and themes the ancient Greeks explored. In ancient Greek theatre, the use of outdoor amphitheatres was used, which, if using the example of the Theatron (or Theatre) of Dionysus, the Greeks patron god of fertility, wine, and pleasure, consisted of the orchestra (a designated area where the chorus would sing and dance in unison), proskenion (where the actors would perform), logeion (a speaking place for the actors), and the parados (these were walkways that acted as entrances and exits for the chorus and performers). The theatre was also comprised of five stage mechanisms: the skene (a tent),  proskenion (before the tent), orchestra (a dancing place), ekkykelma (a rolling platform), and mechane (a crane); whereas now we may have lighting, sound systems and extensive props, the ancient Greeks used their archaic and limited resources to create a setting that would harbour impactful plays during the crucial festivities of Dionysus. 

(Below) A floor plan of what the Theatre of Dionysus would have looked like in the fourth century ( Dörpfeld, & Reisch: 1896).

The ruins of the Theatron of Dionysus (Shutterstock: 2023).

The adaption of Euripides' tragedy Medea can highlight the evolution of theatre. To begin with, one of the glaring differences is the casting of actresses as the ancient Greeks only allowed men to perform and would have employed young boys to act as women, such as the central persona Medea, and the figure and stature of the boy would be seen by the audience, but all the performers would have heavily relied on the use of masks and exaggerated gestures to convey emotion and character; within the adaptation though, masks are not used, and they express more subtle gestures, such as fluctuating their intonation to display more raw emotions that a mask would block. Symbolic and striking, costumes helped distinguish characters (such as a heavy flowing cloak for a tragic hero) and displayed the extent of Athenian wealth, creating a sense of grandeur to the festivities. They were a crucial part of the overall theatrical experience, s, as Wyles describes, being "elaborately patterned" using silk, linen, and gold thread, creating a more stylised and dramatic effect with the costume. Though the costumes in the modern adaption may not be elaborate, they accurately display the clothing and hairstyles that would have been worn by the ancient Greeks themselves, such as the simple linen dresses the enslaved women wore. Though there are many differences between modern and ancient Greek theatre, similarities demonstrate the power of theatre and drama as an evolving and everlasting art form.  

A clip of an adaption of Medea (Kenney & Quintero: 1959).

“Greek myths were endlessly malleable” (Wiles, 2000: 19), and Euripides’ Medea falls under this stipulation. While other playwrights (such as Aeschylus and Sophocles) portrayed her as a wise and powerful sorceress who assists Jason, Euripides displays her as a microcosm of ultimate betrayal, manifesting into a hideous act of revenge – killing their two children. “Think of thy torment. They are dead, they are dead!” (Euripides, 2011: 76) uses repetition to metaphorically drown Jason in despair as not only does the death of their children break him entirely, but the unsuspected betrayal of his wife, who he once loved and trusted, destroys him. The “torment” she has so desperately craved for her husband to feel sprouts from the humiliation she was forced to experience due to her husband leaving her. Hence, she torments him with the most unbearable pain unimaginable to a parent – losing their child. It could be argued that he was the reason for the death of his children as he seemed more concerned with his political ambitions and social status rather than the wellbeing of his existing family – he mentally erased his family, so Medea made it a permanent mark on his mind by killing the two innocent bystanders in their war for power; by doing so, the loss of his children exposed him to the futility of his ambitions and is left to grapple with the consequences of his actions.  

A sarcophagus with the telling of Medea (Zucker, & Harris: 2015).

Medea’s destructive line is the beginning of the last battle the venomous couple would partake in, stichomythia occurring during the exchange between Jason and Medea, spotlighting their final battle through a swordfight of the mind through language as their unbroken one-line dialogue emphasises their struggle for power, an imbalance of power between them (forged by the patriarchal society of their era) making itself known, forcing Medea to desire the reclamation of power and control she once had over her life, instead being known as a foreign woman who betrayed her city-state for Jason; their conflict resulting in the deaths of their children and the annihilation of their family and Medea’s nonchalant attitude concerning the ordeal, as if the haze of the perfect revenge has clouded her mind, even signified by the punctuation used (a full stop), further expressing the callous approach Medea undertakes and her apathetic nature towards the vile deed she has committed. Both sentences also highlight Medea’s identity as a mother finally being erased by her hands, a crucial aspect of the play. Even though she adored her children, the constant downplaying and lack of acknowledgement of her being a mother shown by other characters and instead being seen as a murdering foreign sorceress, Jason arguing that she is too unstable to be trusted with their children, her identity as a mother being weaponised against her, and of course, the murder of her children solidifies her rejection of being a maternal figure and implies a willingness to sacrifice her children in order to achieve her ambitions.   

Medea carrying her dead child (Zucker, & Harris: 2015).

Bibliography:  

Baldry, H.C. (1981). The Greek tragic theatre. London: Chatto & Windus. 

Berg, N. V. D. (2019) Woman carrying baby statue [photograph]. Available online: https://unsplash.com/photos/GVheioPZdpk [Accessed 29/03/2023].

Dörpfeld. W., & Reisch. E. (1896) Das griechische Theater [photograph]. Available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Dionysus [Accessed 29/03/2023].

Green, J.R. (1996). Theatre in ancient Greek society. London: Routeledge.

Medea (1959) Directed by Wes Kenney and José Quintero [Film]. WTNA.

Shutterstock. (2023) Theatre of Dionysus [photograph]. Available online: https://www.historyhit.com/locations/theatre-of-dionysus/ [Accessed 29/03/2023].

Wiles, D. (2000). Greek theatre performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Wyles, R. (2023)  An introduction to... tragic costume. Available online: http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/learning/an-introduction-to/an-introduction-to-tragic-costume [Accessed 25/03/2023].

Zucker, S., & Harris, B. (2015) Medea Sarcophagus [photograph]. Available online: https://smarthistory.org/medea-sarcophagus/ [Accessed 29/03/2023].

The Comedy of Errors is a short but humorous play about the mistaken identity between the separated twins named Antipholus and their identical servants, who are both named Dromio. It follows the cascade of events that this error causes. The Royal Shakespeare Company states that the original production of The Comedy of Errors would have been held on a thrust stage, in the open air. This allows the actors to get closer to the audience whilst still having a backdrop behind them. It would have been a simple stage production with few props, this allowed the audience to focus on the events and language that was happening in the play. This would have been important, especially with this play, to understand the events and which characters were on stage. 

However, the 1983 BBC television production of The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare has been staged quite differently to the contemporary production. The modern day interpretation allows for more complex staging, with the entire production taking place in either the centre stage or in one of the surrounding buildings. 

The staging used in this production enhances the mistaken identity narrative as the actors are able to travel between different buildings. This creates a clearer separation of the twins. With the play being televised as opposed to performed live, it allows the audience to travel with the actors, which effects the audience perspective to that of a contemporary performance. 

The Comedy of Errors is based on the play Menaechmi by Plautus, as the actors would have originally used masks to identify who the twins were and to make the actors look identical. However, Shakespeare would have used makeup instead of masks and emphasised costumes to convey the illusion of being identical. During Elizabethan England, stage makeup was much more limited than it is today, meaning that the casting decision would have been more crucial to ensure the actors playing the twins looked more alike, as mistaken identities is a necessity for the humour of the play. 

This issue is made significantly easier in BBC television production of The Comedy of Errors. This is because the use of film allows editing which enables the same actor to be duplicated on-screen, creating the illusion that they are two separate individuals. The use of technological advancements gives a greater advantage to theatre production on-screen over those performed on-stage.

This may help enhance the modern viewer experience when watching because they are able to fully believe they are watching twins and understand how people would mistake them so easily. The viewer themselves may need more time to figure out which version of the twin is on-screen, whereas on-stage it may have been slightly more obvious because they are being played by two different people. This is the advantage to the use of masks in Menaechmi as the actors would’ve appeared to be identical due to the masks worn.

The costumes in the BBC production are not modern because it is replicating an original Shakespeare play meaning the appearance of the actors are very similar. One main difference of the actors in the BBC production and an original production is that men would have also played the female roles whereas now both men and women act their own roles. 

Act V Scene I Analysis

The final scene in The Comedy of Errors unravels the issue with identity and conflict presented throughout the play. The play alludes to the question of what identity is and how is it identified if our name and appearance also belongs to someone else. It asks the question: is our identity ours or what people perceive us to be? The critic Jennifer Edwards states that “To lose one's place, therefore, might be to lose oneself.” (Edwards, 2020). Edwards is claiming that identity creates our entire being and without it we are lost. Which is why upon confrontation Dromio of Ephesus immediately claims the identity he thinks he belongs to, "Now am I Dromio and his man unbound" (The Comedy of Errors, 5.1, 63). This highlights how important identity is because it is the foundation of people's place in society and their image. This is where the conflict lies in the play, with multiple people believing themselves to have the same identity, same place in society and image. Further issues are created when Duke Solinus asks, “Which is the natural man, And which the spirit?” (The Comedy of Errors, 5.1, 64). There is no anagnorisis for the characters as there is still no realisation that they are twins, they question both their own identity and each other’s. This causes identity issues for both sets of twins as it links back to the question framed throughout the play of what identity is. Their own names and appearance also belong to others. This could be a commentary on society and how people would rather fit in than be their own individual, such as following fashion trends or believing in what others say instead of forming their own opinions. Shakespeare is critiquing society on how similar is and is emphasising the importance of everyone having their own individual identities. 

For Abbess, or Emilia, her clothing becomes her identity. She is seen as her role within society as the head of the Abbey. Her previous identity is lost so she is not recognised by her sons as their mother. In Act V Scene I, when the conflict is resolved she is reborn into her original identity, “My heavy burden ne'er delivered.” (The Comedy of Errors, 5.1, 66) and reinstate herself into the role of a mother. The importance of identity is emphasised here because Abbess was not able to fulfil the role of the mother as she wished because her identity was taken away by others as they only saw as her role in society. Motherhood would have been seen as the most important role for a woman and she was stripped from this. The resolution of the conflict however has enabled her to be free and take on her true identity. The play ends with the Dromio twins walking off together, “We came into the world like brother and brother” (The Comedy of Errors, 5.1, 67) as that is how their life began. Their identity has been resorted and the conflict has been resolved. The ending of this scene highlights the significance of identity as brothers join together in peace. It is also a resolution to what critic Richard Ashby claims, as he states that “The play stages the traumatic ramifications of a rift between personal and public perceptions of identity” (Ashby, 2017). A person’s identity is an essential part of their whole being and when the public perception of your identity is incorrect mayhem is catalysed. The brothers walking out together shows the relief when the conflict is all resolved. 

The final scene in The Comedy of Errors holds up in a modern society as still people’s place in society, such as their role in work or who their connections are, create an identity that is very important. Therefore, Shakespeare’s emphasis on the importance of identity still resonates today.  

Bibliography 

Ashby, R. (2017) Face-off: defacement, ethics and the ‘neighbour’ in The Comedy of Errors. Textual Practice, 32(8), 1255-1275.

Burtsdrama (2023) Elizabethan theatres, stages, sets and props. Available online: https://burtsdrama.com/2015/06/09/elizabethan-theatres-stages-set-and-props/ [Accessed 19/3/2023]

Edwards, J. (2020) “Mark how he trembles in his ecstasy”: space, place, and self in The Comedy of Errors. Shakespeare Studies, 48, 125. 

Royal Shakespeare Company (2023) Stage history. Available online: https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-comedy-of-errors/about-the-play/stage-history [Accessed 18/3/2023]

Shakespeare, W. (2017) The Comedy of Errors. Digireads.com Publishing

The Comedy of Errors (1983) Directed by James Cellan Jones [Film] British Broadcasting Corporation. Available online: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/RT3F5874?bcast=119688571[Accessed 18/3/2023]

“I am a student of the University of Hull blogging as part of my assessment for the module Drama, Conflict and Identity. All views expressed here are my own and do not represent the university”. 

How the Summer Light Theatre company maintained a naturalistic performance in their production

A Doll’s House, is a late nineteenth century play written by Henrik Ibsen, that centres itself around the performance technique of naturalistic theatre. The concept of naturalism was implemented into theatre in the nineteenth century, in order to prevent theatre from becoming ‘detached from real life’. 

In maintenance of this, this production from Summer Light Theatre successfully performed their rendition of the play in a naturalistic manner. They achieve this initially through their staging and set design. This was performed in a proscenium arch stage, acting like a photo frame for the audience to look into. They evidently were very influenced by the stage design in Ibsen’s play, as their set matches the description found in scene one of the written play. Their set design epitomises a naturalistic play, through having a traditional designed room, that a late nineteenth century audience would recognise to be similar to the home they had just left; mirroring life a key aspect of naturalism. Wooden walls, wooden chairs and table, paintings on the wall, an old-fashioned clock and candles all featured prominently in this performance, depicting a traditional middle/ upper class, late nineteenth century home. Alongside this, rather than using modern styled lightbulbs, to light parts of the stage, they used electronic candles, which would adhere to their design of making the stage and set look contemporary to when the play was first performed; due to the invention of the lightbulb coming a few years after the production was first performed. Further lighting methods were used also, with stage lighting seemingly acting metaphorically as Nora’s mood and mindset. At the beginning of the production the lighting was quite bright, yet throughout the production the lights slowly became dimmer, which reflected Nora’s mindset as she became more and more unhappy with the way her husband was treating her throughout the play.

Likewise, this production was able to create a naturalistic performance through the actors’ costumes. They were able to reflect the class divide between different characters, whilst also inferring the societal norms of this period; especially when it came to the female costumes. Characters such as Nora and Christine, wore long dresses with long sleeves, which matched the societal norm of that women were not allowed to show lots of skin when this this play premiered. They were able to show the class divide effectively through the difference between Torvald and Krogstad’s attire. Torvald was dressed in a very formal suit, whereas Krogstad was dressed in fingerless gloves, a flat cap and an overcoat; providing the audience with an insight into what the social status and potential attitudes of the characters will already be even before either of them have spoken on stage.

Within this production there were four individual actors, who were performing across 6 different roles. This was possible, as Dr Rank and Krogstad are never in the same scene as one another, resulting in one actor being able to act as both roles and not cause confusion for the audience. This is likely to be influenced from ancient Greek theatre, with their productions only having a maximum of 4 actors, who all played various different roles.

The producers never had any more than 3 characters on the stage at once, which enabled for greater individualisation of each character and helped the audience understand each character and their perspective role, without being overwhelmed with an on flux of various characters at once; matching traits of naturalism ideology. In coherence with this, all casted actors used ‘everyday speech’, used an acting style that mirrors ‘ordinary life’, and avoided melodramatic acting, preventing the performance from becoming too detached from real life.

The production was also adapted for the screen for online viewers. The camera zoomed closer into certain characters alongside certain elements of the set, which would have been for the audience’s benefit. This enabled for facial expressions to be seen more clearly, as due to the performance not being melodramatic from a further distance it wouldn’t have always been physically obvious the emotions that differing characters were undergoing.

How does social status affect the identity of characters. (Act 1, pages 9-15)

During this passage, Nora and Christine have just met following Christine turning up at the Helmer’s home. Throughout this scene the identity of both characters is challenged, as they begin to reveal to each other, and the audience, their backstories. As a result this passage envelopes the antithesis of each character’s identity and moral compass, despite their proposed affinity with one another.

Nora’s identity is surmised in a plethora of variating ways, whether that’s bravery, self-orientation or her lack of emotional intelligence and empathy. Her lack of emotional empathy is likely to stem from her lack of struggle, and how she hasn’t undergone a drastic amount of hardship in her life, due to her lavish lifestyle. Alongside this, she is so hyper fixated on her social appearance and how people view her, she doesn’t tend emotionally to other people. This is evident from her rude and abrupt comments to her friend of, ‘the last eight years have been a happy time for me’, and ‘I feel so relieved and happy’, following Christine’s summary of the struggle and fortitude she has been through since they last spoke nine years ago. The vocative ‘me’, represents her self-centred nature and lack of empathy towards others. The response also indicates her lack of emotional intelligence as it presents her as brushing off what Christine has opened up to her about, and instead indicating her desire to gloat about her own life, in ignorance of other’s struggles.

Whereas this passage provides the opposite conception of Christine’s identity, as it unpicks her to be emotionally intelligent, having a great sense of solicitude and one who always puts others before herself; juxtaposing Nora. Due to her having ‘nine or ten long years’, it would convey the reason why she is so emotionally tenable to others and why she doesn’t have this self-concentrated nature; as she would understand what it’s like to undergo hardship and wouldn’t want anyone to have to face that. She has immense care for others over herself, which is evident through her marrying someone purely in order to gather money so she could look after her younger brothers following her parents’ deaths, putting herself through turmoil by doing so. Alongside this, despite her having gone through all of this, she still wants to hear about Nora’s life and not dwell on her own, once more showing her emotional intelligence.

Disclamer: I am a student of the University of Hull blogging as part of my assessment for the module Drama, Conflict, and Identity. All views expressed here are my own and do not represent the university

A review of Jeffers' adaptation of Medea: This was televised in 1959. This production can be found easily on youtube - MEDEA (1959) JUDITH ANDERSON. This is an adaptation of the originally written Medea by Euripides from the 5th-century Ancient Greek Theatre. At the time this play was considered unorthodox and groundbreaking - to create catharsis for audiences to release their emotions of frustration through a play. This gives us the necessary context for a fuller understanding of the play we are reviewing - Jeffers’ Adaptation of Medea.

Jeffers’ adaptation of Medea uses technical differences from the original playwright of Medea to cater to its television audience. One example of this is the use of elevated stairs with several levels in this play adaptation. This aids with depth perception in the production as characters - specifically Medea herself interacts with characters from different steps and heights. This allows the characters to travel to and from each other creating a more open performance that seems more realistic to a viewer who would be watching the filming of the play rather than being in the audience. Furthermore, throughout the play the more powerful characters stand higher up on the set - especially at the end of the performance as Medea stands over a sobbing Jason - this depicts how this adaptation used these stairs to depict the more powerful characters. Moreover, this feeling of the audience walking closer and further away from the camera greatly helps to mirror the conventional use of ancient Greek theatres of the parodoi - a lengthy walkway that actors could use to move towards and from the audience. This adds depth and a more inclusive feeling to this television adaptation of Medea by mirroring ancient Greek theatre layouts with a camera and set work. This idea is further reinforced by Jeffers’ use of a door in the center of the set - mirroring the use of skene in ancient Greek cinema. This central door would have been used to hide characters offstage to increase the gory images and possibilities created by the imagination of the audience. This was achieved as they only heard the screams and horrors of Medea in the first act, rather than also seeing her character. This adds an almost psychological horror to the performance as the imagination of the viewer runs wild. This not only adds depth to this high-level performance of Medea but also showcases the actress's wide range of dramatic acting abilities through a wider mode of dramatic performance.

Moving onto how the actors are dressed in this performance of Medea; The costumes in this performance attempt to portray the conventional dresses of the ancient Greeks at the time of Medea’s setting. This is seen through long robes for both the male and female actors as well as what is presumably jewellery for those of higher social status - the type of precious metal however is difficult to determine due to the black and white recording of this adaptation of medea. Through the use of conventional ancient greek theatre clothing this adaptation of Medea doesn’t necessarily need to utilise the authentic greek masks of theatre. In the original showings of Medea - a Greek tragedy, there would only be 3 or 4 actors on stage at any time utilising masks to portray identity. The lack of mask use and more than four actors in Jeffers’ adaptation moves away from the conventional Greek theatre norm. This however calls for some interesting character interaction with more gon g on stage between Medea and other characters as well as a larger chorus on stage. This therefore allows for more in depth character interaction - allowing for an after paced performance and a more in depth exploration of medea’s character as she interacts with more characters at once.

I'd like to further discuss the ideas surrounding conflict and identity that are portrayed in this adaptation of Medea. Upon watching the 4th act of this adaptation we see an interaction between Medea, Jason and their two sons - all of which are on stage at the same time during this scene. This scene sets up perfectly to release catharsis for one of the ending scenes of its production at around 1:34:00. In this heart wrenching scene we see Medea give a soliloquy of her outrage and hatred for Jason, followed by the revealing of her dead sons. This production carefully crafted an intense reveal for the death of the sons with the use of a large door in the middle of the scene - very similar to a skeen in the original playwright of medea. The large doors centre to the camera open to reveal the dead bodies of  both sons as Jason writhes in pain.

This scene explores issues of identity and conflict as the atypical mother identity of Medea is portrayed. This can be inferred by what can only be described as a direct juxtaposition to a nurturing and loving mother as she strikes down her own children in her youth. Thai not only allows for the audience to release catharsis but makes the audience question their own identity as they consider just how easy it was for, what was previously a loving mother, to commit such a heinous act. This therefore creates a conflicting identity among the character of Medea - therefore opening up connotations of nature vs nurture, making the audience wonder whether evil is inherited or nurtured into them This scene overall provided great insight and questioning into how identity is created and by asking - why is Medea seemingly so evil? 

The ideas surrounding conflict are also prevalent in this scene, as we see Medea and Jason arguing throughout. Conflict is presented throughout this production through these characters arguing over faithfulness and love - with this scene providing a climax, ultimately ending with Jason begging for mercy to see his dead sons. Contetxally as an ancient Greek tragedy, this idea would be highly atypical, completely changing the gender roles and narratives surrounding power in a relationship with the man begging for mercy at the hands of his wife. This changes the narrative of gender roles whilst also providing meaningful insight into what conflict is - suggesting it's both an emotional and physical battle rather than just a physical one. Applying this production, the idea surrounding gender roles are much more accepted as women and men being equal – however, the idea surrounding conflict being a battle of mentality is still very prevalent and may give the audience an insight into what conflict really is and an insight into true hardship.

Overall both themes of identity and conflict are shown in this production as a whole and, specifically in the closing scenes of this production. This adaptation mold well to the new technology of television (which is how it was shown to audiences) whilst also staying true to the strength surrounding Euripedea’s original production o Fmedea - such as the use of a skene and the cultural questions surrounding the power of gender conflict and identity. This production is overall a great watch and really provides insight and entertainment at the same time, furthermore, this may serve as a useful resource when studying Mdea as the play is easier to visualize when being watched rather than read.