MEDEA

Jason betrays Medea. Medea decides to take revenge. The children die. Whose fault is it?

In Euripides’ tragedy, betrayal sets off a chain of events in which one act of harm serves as justification for the next. Here, love offers no protection against violence; on the contrary, intimacy and an in-depth knowledge of the beloved are weaponized in a brutal act of revenge. Having been wronged, Medea resolves to inflict upon Jason a degree of suffering greater than what she herself has endured. She is fully aware of the price she will have to pay—yet she does not turn back.

For centuries, we have told stories about betrayal and revenge. Perhaps telling them helps us come to terms with the fear of what those we love are capable of? Or perhaps it serves as a kind of incantation, creating the illusion that such things only happen to other people? Could it be that we are warning one another about traitors while averting our eyes from our own capacity to inflict harm? Or perhaps we recognize in these tales experiences so universal that it is impossible not to see ourselves reflected in them? And then again, maybe by repeating these stories, we are attempting to cast a spell over reality—seeking to gain symbolic control over that which is inherently unpredictable.

In "Medea," Euripides’ tragedy and its various reinterpretations serve as a starting point for a theatrical essay on betrayals—both small and great—as well as acts of vengeance and the harms we inflict upon one another. On stage, successive incarnations of Medea and Jason emerge—figures who have been betrayed or who have betrayed, those who have been abandoned, and those left furious and helpless in the wake of such abandonment. Each character holds their own version of events and their own justification; yet, betrayal shatters one’s perception not only of those we love, but also of ourselves. Not all wrongs are equal, and the roles of the one who is harmed and the one who inflicts harm do not always fall to different individuals.

Because it's easier to recognize the betrayed Medea within yourself. It's much harder to admit that you're also Jason at times. And even harder to remember what Medea proved capable of.

Direction: Mira Mańka
Set design, costumes, light: Katarzyna Sobolewska
Dramaturgy, script: Mira Mańka, Kamila Janik, acting ensemble
Music: Magda Dubrowska
Choreography: Olga Bury, Piotr Stanek
Assistant director: Antonina Swoboda
Assistant choreographer: Hanna Róża Sągolewska

Cast: Medea: Alicja Koga, Zofia Niewrzędowska, Hanna Róża Sągolewska, Zuzanna Szeląg
Jazon: Antoni Jaruszowic, Marcel Nowacki

The text was created in collaboration with the acting ensemble.

Songs: the acting ensemble, led by Antoni Jaruszowic.


The production incorporates excerpts from „Medea” by Euripides (translated by Jacek Kaduczak and Jerzy Łaznowski), „Medea” by Seneca the Younger (translated by Elżbieta Wesołowska), „Medea-Material” by Heiner Müller, and „Medea, My Sweetheart” by Jerzy Przybora.