The Coronet Theatre will present the UK premiere of Medea, a visually arresting and genre-defying reinterpretation of Euripides’ tragedy, created and directed by Satoshi Miyagi.
Running from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 June, this bold production marks the first UK visit by Japan’s prestigious Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
Set during Japan’s Meiji era, Medea explores the haunting legacy of empire through a postcolonial feminist lens. Miyagi’s signature dual-performance style sees each character portrayed by two actors: a male “speaker” and a female “mover,” with movement rooted in kabuki tradition.
Medea tells the harrowing story of a woman betrayed by her lover who exacts a chilling revenge by murdering their children. In Miyagi’s adaptation, the narrative unfolds as a play-within-a-play, set in a traditional restaurant where male diners summon female waitresses for entertainment.
“Through breath-taking visual symbolism, traditional music, and a form-defying performance, tradition and experimentation are fused in a bold postcolonial feminist retelling of Euripides’ classic,” says the production team.
The production features music by Hiroko Tanakawa and is performed in Japanese with English surtitles. The cast includes Micari, Kazunori Abe, Yoneji Ouchi, Kouichi Ootaka, Yukio Kato, Yuumi Sakakibara, Yu Sakurauchi, Yuya Daidomumon, Miki Takii, Momoyo Tateno, Ayako Terauchi, Keita Mishima, Haruka Miyagishima, Fuyuko Moriyama, Maki Honda, Miyuki Yamamoto, and Soichiro Yoshiue.
This internationally acclaimed production has toured 20 cities across 11 countries and now brings its powerful message to London audiences.
Satoshi Miyagi, Artistic Director of SPAC, is renowned for blending contemporary interpretations with traditional Asian theatre techniques. His Antigone opened the 2017 Festival d’Avignon, the first Asian work to do so.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
