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Mum's the word: Helen McCrory and Diana Rigg on playing Medea Mum's the word: Helen McCrory and Diana Rigg on playing Medea
(7 months later)
Helen McCrory (currently playing Medea at the National Theatre)Helen McCrory (currently playing Medea at the National Theatre)
More than any part I've played, Medea engages the mind, body and soul. You've got an hour and a half to get an audience to believe that this woman is going to kill her children. And on top of that: they've got to understand why. More than any part I've played, Medea engages the mind, body and soul. You've got an hour and a half to get an audience to believe that this woman is going to kill her children. And on top of that: they've got to understand why.
Medea is not insane. That's very important. No matter how traumatised she becomes, she's got to know that this will cost her everything. It's got to be the ultimate sacrifice. So you have to find a motive big enough for that.Medea is not insane. That's very important. No matter how traumatised she becomes, she's got to know that this will cost her everything. It's got to be the ultimate sacrifice. So you have to find a motive big enough for that.
She's not just a woman betrayed by her husband, Jason. She broke her father's heart to be with him. She exiled herself from her home country. She killed her brother for him. She's already given up everything. Euripides has her say, "I know what I'm doing is wrong." She knows but she carries on regardless. That's the basis of the Medea Complex in British law: calculated premeditation, not insanity.She's not just a woman betrayed by her husband, Jason. She broke her father's heart to be with him. She exiled herself from her home country. She killed her brother for him. She's already given up everything. Euripides has her say, "I know what I'm doing is wrong." She knows but she carries on regardless. That's the basis of the Medea Complex in British law: calculated premeditation, not insanity.
The play opens seven days after she left Jason. She hasn't eaten and she's described as a lioness protecting her young, snarling and drenched in grief. I start in a pair of Jason's trousers: completely disenfranchised and helpless. As Medea starts to understand what she needs to do, she starts to become more feminine; her clothes become chicer, more elegant. That's a conscious choice: it's about manipulating others. The women around her, the chorus, all prettily dressed, are the convention. She's the one sticking her head above the parapet and the consequences of that can be fatal.The play opens seven days after she left Jason. She hasn't eaten and she's described as a lioness protecting her young, snarling and drenched in grief. I start in a pair of Jason's trousers: completely disenfranchised and helpless. As Medea starts to understand what she needs to do, she starts to become more feminine; her clothes become chicer, more elegant. That's a conscious choice: it's about manipulating others. The women around her, the chorus, all prettily dressed, are the convention. She's the one sticking her head above the parapet and the consequences of that can be fatal.
However, Medea isn't looking for consolation. She's out to tell the truth. I have a low voice anyway, but I drop it a register because I think women often make their voices higher to be liked. Medea's very direct. She doesn't ask to be liked; only to be understood.However, Medea isn't looking for consolation. She's out to tell the truth. I have a low voice anyway, but I drop it a register because I think women often make their voices higher to be liked. Medea's very direct. She doesn't ask to be liked; only to be understood.
Medea never usually brings her children on at the end. I thought that was crucial, to show this superhuman strength she has. When they absolutely have to, people can manage extraordinary feats. Euripides puts her on a golden chariot at the end and his audiences would have understood her as a goddess. That wouldn't read today, but I still wanted that sense of transformation. I wanted her to transcend.Medea never usually brings her children on at the end. I thought that was crucial, to show this superhuman strength she has. When they absolutely have to, people can manage extraordinary feats. Euripides puts her on a golden chariot at the end and his audiences would have understood her as a goddess. That wouldn't read today, but I still wanted that sense of transformation. I wanted her to transcend.
I think Euripides intended the play as a word of warning; a cautionary tale. Athens and its entire economy were supported by women and slaves. And, for me, Euripides was saying, "Before you mistreat your women, remember what they're capable of. What if one of them takes revenge? What if one of them were a goddess? What then?"I think Euripides intended the play as a word of warning; a cautionary tale. Athens and its entire economy were supported by women and slaves. And, for me, Euripides was saying, "Before you mistreat your women, remember what they're capable of. What if one of them takes revenge? What if one of them were a goddess? What then?"
Diana Rigg (played Medea at the Almeida theatre in 1992)Diana Rigg (played Medea at the Almeida theatre in 1992)
Medea is an enormous challenge for an actor: physically, mentally, emotionally. You have to dig, very, very deep and, to work, your performance has to be very personal. It's about these awful emotions – and these awful actions – that we're all capable of, if pushed far enough. You have to find something in your own life that will get you to those extremes. A part like this can never be easy. By the time we reached Broadway, we had seven performances a week, three each weekend, with Mondays off. Each week, I only just managed to resurrect in time for Tuesday's show. Medea is an enormous challenge for an actor: physically, mentally, emotionally. You have to dig, very, very deep and, to work, your performance has to be very personal. It's about these awful emotions – and these awful actions – that we're all capable of, if pushed far enough. You have to find something in your own life that will get you to those extremes. A part like this can never be easy. By the time we reached Broadway, we had seven performances a week, three each weekend, with Mondays off. Each week, I only just managed to resurrect in time for Tuesday's show.
It's particularly exhausting because Medea is defined by her determination. The role is all about endeavour. Most of the women in Greek tragedies have their fates predetermined. The gods dictate that such and such will happen to them and everything they predict comes true. Not Medea. She refuses her fate – "Absolutely not," she says – and then goes on to wreak her revenge. Horribly. She point blank refuses to be a passive and discarded woman.It's particularly exhausting because Medea is defined by her determination. The role is all about endeavour. Most of the women in Greek tragedies have their fates predetermined. The gods dictate that such and such will happen to them and everything they predict comes true. Not Medea. She refuses her fate – "Absolutely not," she says – and then goes on to wreak her revenge. Horribly. She point blank refuses to be a passive and discarded woman.
Our production, which Jonathan Kent directed, first for the Almeida, then the West End and Broadway, was pretty austere. It took place on a huge sloping wooden stage, with water running across it and a backdrop of these enormous metal sheets. We didn't set it in a particular time or place. It was completely universal. She's completely universal. I was wearing an old, comfy jersey – hardly even a costume – and my hair was pulled back in a pigtail, quite severe. Jonathan wanted to start quite small and domestic, then turn it into something epic.Our production, which Jonathan Kent directed, first for the Almeida, then the West End and Broadway, was pretty austere. It took place on a huge sloping wooden stage, with water running across it and a backdrop of these enormous metal sheets. We didn't set it in a particular time or place. It was completely universal. She's completely universal. I was wearing an old, comfy jersey – hardly even a costume – and my hair was pulled back in a pigtail, quite severe. Jonathan wanted to start quite small and domestic, then turn it into something epic.
At the end, when it was revealed that I'd killed my sons, one of these metal sheets dropped to the floor. It was desperately shocking for an audience. There was this terrible clang of falling steel and then me, drenched in the blood of my two children. It was a real coup de theatre. One night the steel sheet came off its hinges and these cables whipped across the stage. It very nearly took my foot off.At the end, when it was revealed that I'd killed my sons, one of these metal sheets dropped to the floor. It was desperately shocking for an audience. There was this terrible clang of falling steel and then me, drenched in the blood of my two children. It was a real coup de theatre. One night the steel sheet came off its hinges and these cables whipped across the stage. It very nearly took my foot off.
But all this was 21 years ago. Each generation has to reconceive these plays and these parts for their own time. My daughter Rachael Stirling played Medea two years ago. You hand the baton on and that's why roles like Medea resonate for years and years, as each new actor comes to it. But all this was 21 years ago. Each generation has to reconceive these plays and these parts for their own time. My daughter Rachael Stirling played Medea two years ago. You hand the baton on and that's why roles like Medea resonate for years and years, as each new actor comes to it.
• Medea is at the National Theatre until 4 September. Box office: 020 7452 3000. It will be broadcast to cinemas globally as part of NT Live on 4 September.• Medea is at the National Theatre until 4 September. Box office: 020 7452 3000. It will be broadcast to cinemas globally as part of NT Live on 4 September.
Interviews by Matt TruemanInterviews by Matt Trueman