Phaedra review: a ‘gobsmackingly audacious’ spin on the Greek myth
Janet McTeer leads a superb cast but the play is fatally flawed
In his “gobsmackingly audacious” spin on the Greek myth of a woman in love with her stepson, the Australian writer-director Simon Stone has turned the play into a “satire on smug London elites, while retaining its transgressive, tragic power”, said Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard.
In Stone’s reworking, Phaedra becomes Helen, a “complacently wealthy” married politician who falls for the Moroccan son of her former lover. Janet McTeer is “magnificent” as the “mesmerisingly Amazonian” Helen, making us “feel the joy of the character’s sexual reawakening as well as its wrongness”.
She leads a superb cast – including Call My Agent!’s Assaad Bouab and the Canadian screen star Mackenzie Davis – who give “thrilling performances as utterly awful, self-absorbed people”. At times the play “teeters on the brink of absurdity”, but it’s a “must-see” even so: a “high-spec, richly textured chamber extravaganza”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At times this “stunningly sharp” and “hugely entertaining” drama is closer to TV’s Succession than it is to Euripides, Seneca or Racine, said Dominic Maxwell in The Times. It has a “caustically funny contemporary sensibility” that grabs you from the start.
Not me, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. McTeer gives a strong performance, but the play doesn’t work and nor does the staging. Chloe Lamford’s set, a rotating transparent box with window-like bars, is “visually arresting but keeps us at a distance, even in scenes of intimacy, and we remain voyeurs to the last, never allowed into Phaedra’s mind or heart”. The lurches between comedy and serious drama create confusion over what the piece is “trying to say or do”, and the plot turns get in the way of any psychological depth.
The “crack cast paper over the gaps somewhat”, said Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out. But the play is fatally flawed. McTeer’s character is “almost entirely unsympathetic”, and the dialogue too “gauche and bombastic to give any real nuance” to her feelings and actions. What we’re left with is not tragedy, nor comedy – just a “sloppy melodrama” that fails to convince.
Lyttelton, National Theatre, London SE1 (020-3989 5455). Until 8 April; nationaltheatre.org.uk
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 3, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour – an 'expansive' exhibition
The Week Recommends The 'sweeping' show features over 140 works from paintings to ceramics
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale picks her favourite true crime books
The Week Recommends The writer shares works by Janet Malcolm, Helen Garner and Mark O'Connell
By The Week UK Published
-
The Forsyte Saga: 'faultless' production with a 'pitch-perfect' cast
The Week Recommends Theatrical adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels is a 'must-see' show
By The Week Published
-
6 exciting homes for athletes
Feature Featuring a rock-climbing wall in New York and a basketball-tennis court in Washington
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Ames Carlin's 6 favorite books on pop culture icons
Feature The author recommends works by James McBride, Jim Bouton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Wild Robot: animated adventure is 'warm, funny and wise'
The Week Recommends 'Sharply written and richly detailed' adaptation of Peter Brown's best-selling book
By The Week UK Published
-
Francis Bacon: Human Presence – a 'stirring, splendid' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Riveting' show at the National Portrait Gallery explores the artist's 'wild' portraits
By The Week UK Published
-
Robert McCrum shares his favourite books on sport
The Week Recommends Writer and editor picks works by Nick Hornby, David Goldblatt and others
By The Week UK Published