The Musical Medea
The Musical Medea, part of the Camden Fringe, is a actor-muso show following the Greek myth of Medea, princess and sorceress of Colchis, performing Upstairs and the Gatehouse. The story follows Medea from her life in royalty, to her isolation after following her true love, who then betrays her. The show is filled with talented performers sporting a variety of instruments as they tell this exciting and empowering tale.
What I liked
The story of Medea is definitely one I can appreciate adapting into a musical, and I love musicals where the actors also play instruments, especially with the mix they had: your classic piano, guitar and percussion, but then an accordion, flute, violin.
Performances across the cast were stellar, with Flo Lunnon doing amazing work as Medea, onstage for majority of the show showcasing an incredible voice and flute skills. My favourite song Medea sang came at the end of act 1, as Lunnon performed a rage filled song after being betrayed, truly shaking the room. My favourite song of the whole show however was performed by Felix Gillingwater as Aegeus in act 2, bringing some much needed lightness into the second act with an almost love song on accordion.
What wasn’t my favourite
As a new show I do think there is a little more to be done with the script, especially in the arguments between Medea and Jason as they tend to drag on and at times seem to prioritise witty quips over characterisation. The script in general is quite dense and in its attempt to be filled with elevated language can become somewhat confusing.
I wasn’t very familiar with the story of Medea before the show, and after reading up a bit I’m left yearning for more that this show didn’t explore, particularly the fact that Medea is a sorceress in the myth (and that she does in fact kill her children, spoilers sorry, which this production seems to want to be ambiguous but leans more towards the idea that she doesn’t).
Overall
The Musical Medea is a very enjoyable new musical and I doubt this will be its last production. I especially hope for an album eventually, or some recordings of the songs on YouTube so that I can appreciate the musicianship of the show once more.
