Mainly Opera and Ballet
At the end of this play, Helios the sun god comes to Medea’s rescue, carrying her through the air in a chariot from Corinth to Athens. This deus ex machina pulls her out from certain death in a city where her sorcery has killed its king and his only daughter, destroyed her ex-husband Jason’s plans …
Moving inland from the sea can create a residual yearning for freedom, the wish to escape from a marriage, and this play by Ibsen has a feeling of impending tragedy. Yet given the freedom you desire, you may decide to stay on land, and tragedy can turn in a moment to a promise of stability …
The play was produced in about 1595, at a time when Shakespeare’s company, the Chamberlain’s Men, were regularly playing to Elizabeth’s court and it’s quite likely she saw it. In any event it was a masterstroke of Peter Hall to have Judi Dench play the part of Titania, and I found her entirely convincing.
This was a terrific performance of Terence Rattigan’s excellent play about a teenage boy wrongly accused of stealing at Naval College.
