Director: Tay Shiaw Tong, Koay Sze Jye
Playwright: Euripides
Institution: New Era University College, Malaysia
Venue: ATEC Website
Time: 09:30, May 18, 2019
Event: The 4th World Theatre Education Conference with 6th Asian Theatre Schools Festival
Director’s Notes
Tay Shiaw Tong
Directing Medea, one of the classic Greek tragedies, is a huge challenge. The whole play is about how Medea, who was betrayed by her husband causing her started a revenge. She was the most meticulous, even comparable to the abyss. Through a step-by-step plan, Medea killed everyone her husband loved, including their child. As the saying goes: "The more I love, the more I hate". The protagonist’s heart was extremely traumatized, leading to the extreme distortion of her heart, and finally choose to solve the problem with violence. When the weaker party decides to fight back, society is doomed to turmoil. The rise of female power is not to fight for power, but to defend for respect and equality that every woman deserves. I never thought of one day I could direct an ancient Greek classic tragedy, and I never even thought that me as an actor and director in the play. At first, when I was acknowledged to hold this position, the director for this play, I was confused about how to manage all the work as this was the first time for me to figure out what should I do as a director. Luckily, at the end of the play, I was satisfied and grateful for all my efforts and all my member’s cooperation to work on this project together.
Koay Sze Jye
As a woman, I don’t have the courage. Although I will be unwilling to the current situation, I don’t know how to change it. In the process of studying the script, many viewpoints were discussed repeatedly. In addition to the topic of women discussed in the original work, many perspectives are also extended from it.
There are many problems in the rehearsal process, but interesting things are also indispensable. Although it is very stressful, there is another director to solve it together with the two of us.
Synopsis
Medea is a woman who knows how to witchcraft, and when she meets the hero Iassin, she doesn't hesitate to fall in love. Renegade father, killing brothers, only to help their beloved man to steal gold wool. When they exiled to another land, in order to marry the local princess and gain power, Iassin raced to turn his back on his beloved wife, Medea. Medea could not bear the betrayed love, grief. But in the end, she woke up, bound not to be low on fate. With no way to go, sad and angry, Medea decided to carry out a cruel revenge plan to poison her husband's new happy, and then kill their own children. Medea brutally used the blood of her enemies and loved ones to her husband began his revenge torture. In the end, she left her lost husband, Iassin, living alone in pain.