Phaedra’s Love

Sarah Kane
Fear No Colours
C nova

Phaedra’s Love

Fear No Colours completes its Sarah Kane double bill with this short, early play that brings Greek tragedy up to (In-Yer-Face) date.

The play might more accurately have been entitled Hippolytus’s Ennui, since, while Hannah Torbitt in the title role demonstrates considerable passion for her stepson, it is Callum Partridge’s dissolute character who has far more stage time.

Hippolytus manages to combine nihilism, rebellion and sheer bloody mindedness with a Devil-may-care attitude that is eventually suicidal.

With good support from Miss Torbitt and Aea Varfis-van-Warmelo playing Strophe, Partridge does a good job at conveying the selfish listlessness of youth in the face of the devotion of his step-everyone, not to mention the populace.

The idea of turning Greek tragedy into a modern drama about a passionate stepmother and lazy, regal youth spurning the approaches of all and sundry and wishing his life away is good.

It should also be rather more amusing than this production suggests, several good jokes missing their targets.

Reviewer: Philip Fisher

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?