HIPPOLYTUS
greek tragedy is a dangerous game
Praise for Hippolytus:
★★★★★ - "like watching butterflies emerge from the chrysalis of the past, a thing of dance, passion, total beauty...a complete life-enhancement" - London Theatre 1
‘You are not your name, you are not your job. Maybe whoever you think you are isn’t as important as how you act. And I am going to make you see that.”
A man walks onto a stage and starts giving a lecture on Greek tragedy. But who is the goddess he keeps glimpsing out of the corner of his eye? And why do the characters from his notes keep drifting off the page and into his world? Welcome to the twisted world of Hippolytus, a dark story of guilt, gender, and the things we can’t run away from.
Tamsin Shasha as Phaedra. Image © Mandy Gasson
This unique, playful reinvention interweaves a story from our own world, inspired by true events, with the play originally penned in 428 BC by the master dramatist behind Medea and The Bacchae. Physical theatre, Greek tragedy, and psychological drama collide in this powerful new reimagining of the classic devised by the company.
Catharsis' debut show started life as an open-air piece for arts festival Art In Action in 2014. It subsequently re-devised, redeveloped, and went indoors in 2015 for a week's run at The Hope Theatre in Islington, in addition to performances at St James Senior Girls School and Boys School.
Director & adaptor Justin Murray
Costume designer J Childe Pendergast
Lighting Designer Kirsten Buckmaster
Sound Designer Philip Matejtschuk
Cast Ben Scheck, Isobel Wolff, Tamsin Shasha, Julian Hutton, Lizzie Buckingham, Eleonora Russo, Briony Wyatt