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Phaedra – Theatre Review

If you want to go see something really amazing this week, then you should go to see Phaedra at the Project Arts Centre. With a stellar line up including Catherine Walker, Allen Leech and Stephen Brennan, Rough Magic’s latest production is not just about the acting, it is also complimented by an impressive array of musical performances.

Brought into a 21st Century setting, this Greek tragedy is brought to life under the direction of Lynn Parker and musical composer Ellen Cranitch who leads a team of 5 musicians and 3 vocalists to create a stunning soundtrack to a great production.

Phaedra (Catherine Walker), the unwilling wife to the philandering Theseus (Stephen Brennan) obsesses over her stepson Hippolytus (Allen Leech) and her undying love (or is it lust?) for him. Rejoicing in the news of her husband’s death, Phaedra makes her advances on Hippolytus only to be rebuked, and this is where the fun starts!

With comedic relief from Sarah Greene’s matter of fact Ismene and occasionally Michéle Forbes’ Enone, Phaedra is a tale of the dangers of lust, power and true love. Parker’s innovative production casts vocalists Fionnuala Gill, Rory Musgrave and Cathy White as the gods Artemis, Poseidon and Aphrodite respectfully, who according to Parker are “the inner voices or the cosmic forces [...] These elements are interfering, meddling with the individual will of the characters.” Phaedra’s impossible love is played out by a talented cast of actors and musicians to make a classic relevant in today’s modern world. And if you’re not into Greek tragedy or creative musical performances, then there’s always Allen Leech topless and Catherine Walker in a fetching ensemble of suspenders and basque!

To book, visit the Project Arts Centre website: http://www.projectartscentre.ie/

7.30PM, 5 OCT – 9 OCT

1.00PM & 6.00PM – 10 OCT