Medea revisited: recreating the tragedy through a gender-based perspective

• Author(s): Afonso, Gustavo
• Date: 2024
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/43650
• Origin: RIA - Repositório Institucional da Universidade de Aveiro
• Document Type: Conference object
• Language: English

Description

Medea, the protagonist of Euripides’ tragedy, has remained a central topic both in studies on the role of women in Ancient Greek society (Rabinowitz 1993; Griffiths 2006; Mitchell-Boyask 2008; Othman, Ahmad, and Manan 2011) and in current debates on the definition of identity, based on binary oppositions (Rabinowitz 1993; Griffiths 2006). This presentation proposes a new understanding of the character of Medea based on a recreation of Euripides’ tragedy, presented in 2024 in partnership with Teatro dos Estudantes da Universidade de Coimbra (TEUC), the theater collective that premiered the play in Portuguese in 1955 (Pereira 1955). The project brought together several perspectives on this myth, from a methodological perspective in artistic research, integrating elements linked to the performances from the 1950s, namely the Portuguese translation by Maria Helena da Rocha Pereira and the music by Victor Macedo Pinto. As a music-based project, its central objectives were: 1) to understand the relevance of music as a dramatic element and catalyst for deterritorialization; 2) to reshape, through musical and scenic components, the understanding of Medea in light of gender perspectives, promoting the discussion on the repercussions of this issue in today’s society. The preparation of the project involved archival research, interviews and a critical edition of the Macedo Pinto’s music for the staging of Euripides’ Medea, followed by the implementation of a series of performance laboratory sessions with the stage director, actors and musicians, leading to its presentation at TEUC’s Teatro de Bolso in Coimbra. The intersection of several textual and non-textual media, the multiple dramaturgical components involved in the construction of the performance and the use of technology allowed a rupture with established artistic practices and offered a contemporary vision of the tragedy, bringing women to the center of the dramatic narrative.