BELL THEATRE AUDITIONS

Medea

Audition Dates

Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th December 2002

Performance Dates

Tuesday 1st - Saturday 5th April 2003

MEDEA tells an ancient and horrific tale with startling immediacy. As the play opens we are instantly pitched into the midst of a family in crisis. To her mistresss screams of anguish offstage, Medeas nurse quickly fills in the storys background. Jason, hero of the Argonauts and the quest for the golden fleece has abandoned Medea and their two sons and plans to marry the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth where the family have taken refuge. From this dramatic opening unfolds a story of assured clarity and emotional complexity that make it astonishingly modern. As the women of Corinth plead with Medea for calm she finds herself increasingly isolated as both Creon and Jason savagely banish her from Corinth. Fortunately, she manages to persuade Aegeus, King of Athens to give her sanctuary. Before leaving, however, she plans a brutal revenge on the man who has destroyed her happiness. She uses witchcraft to slaughter Creon and his daughter in an horrific fashion before murdering her own sons to ensure Jasons misery is total.

Apart form the powerful simplicity and sheer horror of the story, the most exciting thing about the play is the language. Characters communicate with each other in long, powerful speeches which will be a hugely rewarding challenge for both actor and director; the dialogue, when it comes, is snappy and succinct. None of the parts is without real excitement and weight and most of them are neatly contained which should mean that rehearsals are kept to a minimum!

MEDEA Our heroine is complex and difficult. She is the daughter of the sun and has the realm of witchcraft at her disposal; without mercy she has killed in the past, and will kill again. Her love for Jason is the foundation on which her entire life is built and when it is taken from her we must feel and sympathise with the pain of her betrayal and the anguish that drives her to her hideous revenge.

JASON Hero of the quest for the Golden Fleece. While it would be easy to present him as something of a love rat, Euripides gives him a series of complex and convincing arguments to ensure that our sympathies are genuinely torn between him and Medea.

CREON King of Corinth, a powerful and majestic leader who remains terrified of Medeas reputation and what she might inflict upon his family and his people.

AEGEUS King of Athens and the one ray of hope in Medeas life. He is worldly, sophisticated and amusing.

NURSE the powerful opener to the play. Her dramatic account of the background is exciting, complex and inspiring.

MESSENGER Has probably the most brilliant speech in the story in which he describes, in hideous detail and at great length, the awful murders of Creon and his daughter.

TUTOR to Medea and Jasons children. A voice of calm and serenity in the surrounding hubris.

CHORUS of CHRORINTHIAN WOMEN fulfil an essential and inspiring role in the play. They are present throughout commenting on the action, pleading with Medea and offering advice and support. Our challenge is to make them the representatives of an entire society and yet, at the same time, to give them all a unique individuality. These are not supporting roles (indeed the chorus is by far the largest role in the play) it will take at least 6 (and preferably 8 or 10) excellent actresses to bring the chorus to life!

Medea and Jason need to be old enough to have a son of about 11 (so at least 30?), Creon to have a daughter old enough to marry (40?). The other parts can be any age the greater the spread of ages in the chorus the better and it might be effective if the nurse was far older than everyone else.

More information do call me on email

Most of the creative team is in place; Elinor Howard is helping to direct, Mike Elliot is lighting Stuart Drapers breathtakingly simple set and Alan Buckmans costumes, while Jess Osorio will lead the troops backstage. But if youd like to help out, please let me know!

Matt Bartlett Director

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