Ovalhouse begins 2018 with another dynamic and innovative season of shows plus four new FiRST BiTES. For the first time, Owen Calvert-Lyons, Ovalhouse’s Head of Theatre & Artist Development, will be directing a brand-new show Random Selfies by Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny, as part of a three-year research project into child loneliness.
Their Spring Season will open with Medea Electronica – an electrifying retelling of the myth of Medea which has been reimagined as a 1980s Prog Rock gig. We caught up with Pecho Mama to find out more about this re-telling of a Greek myth.
Medea Electronica is coming to Ovalhouse, what can you tell us about it?
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy best known for its horrific and glorified act of infanticide by a mother. New theatre company Pecho Mama set the tale in 1980’s rural England. Medea Electronica is an electrifying and compassionate portrayal of a family caught in the brutal throes of a marriage unravelling.
The intense drama is played out amidst a live synth gig; an all-original mash up of contemporary, cinematic soundscapes, prog rock and 1980’s Electronica. The theatre show convention is flipped. Medea (Mella Faye) interacts with pre-recorded actors, and sings with live musicians (Alex Stanford on synths and soundgarden and Sam Cox on electric drums). Medea’s philandering husband is voiced by Toby Park from the well-known clown troupe Spymonkey.
Why did you choose that particularly dark Greek Tragedy to work with?
It’s such a powerful tale for so many reasons. Infanticide by a mother is horrifying for everybody, nobody believes it could happen, and yet it exists in nature. And in Euripides tale, Medea slaughters her children and then rides off in a Golden chariot triumphantly, as if a victorious war hero! It’s so backwards. And that’s what I love about it, and relished the challenge of getting the audience on her side, willing her on to kill, succeed and escape.
Where did the inspiration to set it in the eighties come from?
It’s such a fun era, though we don’t really take the fun bits, this is rural 80’s, with Poll Tax riots on the 6 o’clock news. The main reason though, was to add to Medea’s feeling of isolation and inability to piece parts of the puzzle together. These days we can stalk a philandering lover quite easily. Medea has to make do with a rotary phone and a dial up connection.
What can traditional theatre audiences expect from Medea Electronica?
It’s a real mash up. It is traditional theatre, but it’s also a live concept album.
It all hinges around a gripping story, and the music sweeps you along.
Tell us about Pecho Mama and the kind of things you’ve done before?
We are a new company but we’ve worked together in different guises before. Alex (Synths) and I worked together in a Jazz-Funk band almost 20 years ago! He is a regular on the London Jazz circuit. And Sam (Drums) and I met through touring the festival season. Sam has his own punk band; Lady Bird. We really wanted to work together, the three of us, and that came before the show; the desire to create something with each other. The music and the story emerged simultaneously.
Medea Electronica is at Ovalhouse Tuesday 30th January – Saturday 10th February 2018.
