Seneca’s Phaedra was initially a Roman tragedy written by thinker and dramatist Lucius Annaeus Seneca earlier than 54 A.D. It tells the story of Phaedra, spouse of King Theseus of Athens and her consuming lust for her stepson Hippolytus. This story was so well-liked again within the day, Seneca’s Phaedra is only one of a number of creative explorations of this tragic story. In Seneca’s model, he portrays Phaedra as self-aware and direct within the pursuit of her stepson taking over a scheming nature, whereas in different therapies of the parable, she is extra of a passive sufferer of destiny.
Drawing from Seneca’s model, Writer-Director Simon Stone (Yerma, Young Vic) now reimagines the well-known tragedy for the National Theatre in Phaedra, a brand new play by Simon Stone after Euripides, Seneca and Racine.
Simon Stone modernises Phaedra and after years of fierce give attention to her political profession, she now turns her consideration to her private life. The reappearance of Phaedra’s step-son shakes the foundations of her home and the beliefs which have underpinned her energy. As buried lust and loneliness surge to the floor, Phaedra’s actions threaten to destroy all the things she has constructed. In a home of glass, one should not throw stones.
In this National Theatre manufacturing, Janet McTeer (Ozark) takes the title function now known as Helen, with Paul Chadihi (Salomé, As You Like It) as her husband Hugo and Mackenzie Davis (Station Eleven, Halt and Catch Fire, Black Mirror) and Archie Barnes (All My Sons, Bugsy Malone) as their youngsters Isolde and Declan. John Macmillan (Yerma, he Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Hamlet) performs Isolde’s husband Eric and Assaad Bouab (The Plough and the Stars, One Thousand and One Nights, King Lear) is returning step-son Sofaine. Nadia Nadif (What Do You See?, Deen and Dunya 1001 Nights, Twelfth Night) as Aicha, Sirine Saba (Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State, Nation, Sparkleshark) as Reda, Nicholas Gauci (Hampton Court Palace Live Shows, How to Be Lucky, Rumpelstiltskin) as Daoud and Akiya Henry (Coram Boy, Once in a Lifetime, Anything Goes) as Omolara. Joining them as ensemble are Rhys Bailey (Leopoldstadt, Doctor Zhivago), Johanne Murdock (King Lear, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Mohsen Ghaffari (The Words for A Play, A Pie and A Pint, The Syrian Baker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Emmanuel Olusanya (Lark Rise to Candleford, Flashbang, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens) and Dot Williams (Uncle Vanya, Constellations, Closer).
As an ensemble, the actors type a plausible dysfunctional liberal household unit the place wine flows, swear phrases are the norm and intercourse is talked about over the dinner desk. As Helen, Janet McTeer is excellent. Spanning an unbelievable emotional arch throughout the play, McTeer delves headfirst into Helen/ Phaedra’s psyche, expertly holding on for pricey life in a riveting efficiency careening in the direction of Phaedra’s graphic premature finish. As her long-suffering husband Hugo, Paul Chadihi is great. Mild-mannered and overshadowed by Helen, Chadihi portrays a Hugo slowly regaining his id and coming into his personal. As their daughter Isolde, Mackenzie Davis offers a compelling efficiency. Discovering her personal sexuality, Isolde falls in love with tragic penalties and Davis portrays her undoing finesse. As Helen and Hugo’s son Declan, younger Archie Barnes offers a strong efficiency. The fashionable good telephone obsessed little one, Declan is at first shielded from his household’s shortcomings after which totally uncovered at an explosive celebration scene the place he leaves declaring “fuck you all”… and I imply, honest… honest. A enjoyable efficiency from a really proficient up and coming actor. As Isolde’s husband Eric, John Macmillan performs with talent navigating between emotional wreck and perpetual good man earlier than erupting in an emotionally charged violent retort. As returning step-son Sofaine, Assaad Bouab offers an distinctive efficiency. Broken, cussed and misplaced, Bouab’s Sofiane feels his personal nation below concern of persecution and involves London to seek out his father’s ex-lover Helen. Befriending the household, Sofiane quickly discovers all just isn’t properly inside the London family and so begins Phaedra’s tragedy. Bouab’s multilingual Sofiane is a masterclass in dramatic appearing and had the viewers enthralled all through.
All the motion takes place in a big rotating field with Chloe Lamford’s set design turning into a personality by itself. Often displaying English subtitles, this versatile set transforms from a totally functioning household residence, to an upscale London restaurant, an empty workplace constructing in Birmingham, to the aspect of a snowy mountain with dramatic impact. Each set is enveloped with element, fantastically designed and splendidly put in by the crew transporting you into Phaedra’s world.
Simon Stone’s new Phaedra places an elitist household drama within the highlight and exploits the viewers’s schadenfreude, simply as reveals like Love Island, Married at First Sight and Love Is Blind do.
Reviewed by Stuart James