Euripides Medea

[@TrailDancer]

For anyone confused doing a school project... People have been obsessed with this play for THOUSANDS of years. There is a really good reason for that! Give it a chance and you might see why people love it so much - The writing beautifully describes the timeless feelings of despair and rage at being abandoned by someone you love. It is easier to understand when you have felt rage and experienced something terrible yourself. Both Medea and Jason are being unreasonable in timeless human ways - Jason is messing everything up by "trying to have it all" (he wants more power and hopes he can get it by marrying this new young princess - the foolish thing is that even though he has to betray his first wife, hes hoping he wont have to deal with the consequences of this betrayal, and just go about his new perfect life). Medeas foolishnes is that she is in fact suffering a terrible injustice, but instead of making the best of her new situation, she decides to go down fighting and bring everyone down with her. I think one of the "morals" of this ancient story is that LIFE IS NOT FAIR, and to get the best outcome in life, you must compromise and accept the bad stuff - instead of DYING and RUINING EVERYTHING by trying to hang on to unrealistic dreams. Cheers!

[@silvia7058]

woww thank you for this analysis!

[@TrailDancer]

@@silvia7058 no prob - hope you enjoy this awesome performance

[@pacman5698]

Truth be told, this is probably going to be relevant for a while. So many times when heroes are depicted as heavily flawed beings that ended up messing up badly in their later years or end up discovering a lot of what they did in the past deserves nuance and more critical looks, there can be a lot of cries that they "ruined" the character via making him "lame" or "a coward". But instead, many need to understand heroes, and the myths they spring from are more than just things you can easily emulate with an action figure in a playroom. They're about delving deep into the psyches of humans and all their flaws throughout their lives from beginning to death, in order to explore how much human beings themselves change, fail, succeed, and develop into different mindsets throughout the years they live.

[@jridiala4370]

i will make your comment as a conclusion on my exam next week. thank u a lot

[@harvestcanada]

But then again the original play was never meant to be played by a woman. Medea was made by men for men. I can't help feeling Medea was a little over the top. Then again the play can be seen as an ancient form of xenophobia and misogynistic.

[@Lydia.Callaghan]

POV: your here for homework

[@defjusteman629]

yup yup yup

[@unix8979]

yuuuuuuuuup

[@jayalavine8993]

Haha nope. Just watchin for fun.

[@_moon__xx_]

yuhh

[@teyvatvillager136]

god you hit me with those word tell the truth

[@joetrapp9187]

R.I.P. Zoe Caldwell. Both she in this version (1982) and Diana Rigg (1994) won Tony Awards as Medea, and both died this year.

[@clarequilty4962]

Caldwell gives one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen. I do wish someone had caught even a few minutes of Rigg's Medea on film.

[@rainespells1273]

Judith Anderson who played the nurse in this production (and originated this particular Medea) won a Tony for it as well in 1948

[@jasonlemoine2074]

​@@clarequilty4962There is a bootleg of her performance!

[@FaunsAfternoon]

she had me in awe the whole time. I wish Euripides could see it.

[@ameliastevie7331]

Unfortunately he would probably be upset because during his time, women weren't allowed to act in plays

[@MultiCamOrange]

I know, how good is she!! Seeing Greek theatre live is on my bucket list.

[@gregpritchard5800]

In 1984, I took a group of English Literature students to see Ms Caldwell in Medea on stage in Melbourne. A rare privilege; mesmerizing, hypnotic and terrifying, her performance was one of the highlights of my theater memories. Seeing this filmed version, I am reminded of her galvanizing presence on stage and her magnetism in this role. A staggering tribute to a towering talent.

[@angli3865]

Do you know where is this filmed version from?

[@gregpritchard5800]

@@angli3865 The end credits say the Kennedy Centre which means that it must have been in Washington DC. I guess that it would be in the early '80's

[@Slippin22]

Me too , had it in my English lit class. Really enjoyed it so much I looked for this video 20 years later .

[@jerrypeters1157]

Wow. This play, this performance. It drew me in and captivated my soul to the very end.

[@musicloverlondon6070]

Euripides was and is a great playwright. All his work is powerful and that's why he's lasted for nigh on 25 centuries.

[@zackcarman7845]

Damn school brought me here.

[@rexterrocks]

You're lucky, at least you get to watch the actual play on KZbin, I did this at school in 1983 and I only had the book. You young people with your electric interphones and your lapbooks have it easy.

[@KyleSmith-kn1ks]

dude, same here.

[@RoLee705]

@Paul Evans thank you for paving the way for our unworthy souls.

[@tammyalderson4511]

LMFAO SAME

[@oceancity415]

Me too guy's I have 1 hour to finish my exam thank goodness for this video!😅😜👻

[@TheMusicalStylingsofBrentBunn]

Whether you're here for school or out of curiosity, I bet you found something special in this classic play :-)

[@silverdandylmao]

The description of how the princess and king died was VISCERAL, such stellar acting too!!

[@Builder44708]

I know. It's just about the most gruesome part of any play I know.

[@abignothing]

holy shit, this is one of the most powerful performances of a stage production i've ever seen, and i've seen a lot as a theatre person. some people invoke medea as a figure in their witchcraft practice, but im honestly tempted to invoke zoe caldwell😳

[@ohwell94]

It's always been on my bucket list to go to NYC and see a Broadway play And frankly I would had sold my soul to have seen Broadway back in the day

[@montgomerypowers7205]

This is maybe the third time I've watched this production since I found this video last year. I really love it. Medea is my favorite ancient character to ponder over.

[@-saltedotaku-9444]

"I have some things to do that the men will talk about in hushed voices."

[@lynxb7396]

Imma start using that phrase when I plan on doin somethin shady

[@MegaMayday16]

Its painful to watch if you are from a broken family and if you were hurt in your last relationship and that injustice brought out the worst in you. Really tough to watch

[@alicecoghlan235]

Thank you to Emily for putting up such an important production which realises all the wonderful emotion and drama of this great play. On every count the actors are pitch perfect, complex, conflicted but always narrating. The costume design and use of props is also imaginative, historical and evocative.We are using it for our Wonderland Theatre Bookclub to help emerging playwrights best understand how to write for theatre. I can't recommend this and the Fiona Shaw BBC Abbey Theatre version on youtube to others enough!

[@jktekkerz8735]

You ‘can’t’. Why not?

[@ajora08861]

Phenomenal actress.

[@Gonkawonga]

who were they?

[@peterellinger5532]

Rafael Deleon & I disagree. She is melodramatic

[@kaylenefeiger6901]

@@Gonkawonga Zoe Caldwell played Medea; Judith Anderson, her nurse

[@animature4929]

I think they miss a mature point. She doesn´t kill her children because they look like Jason. She wants to hurt him, but she also kills them because she feels like she has no other choice, since she is affraid the Corinth people will kill them instead. And she hesitates, talks about her real feelings in the monologue before she actually does it. I don´t get why they left that part out.

[@James-nv9fi]

Ani Mature a good point. Scholars debate however whether the lines of hesitation are original Euripides or were added in the 4th Century or perhaps even later. I think you can find one source of this discussion either in the introduction to the Oxford World Classics edition of ‘Medea and other plays’ or failing that, the Blackwell Companion to Ancient Greek Drama’. I wish I could be more specific, you raise an important point.

[@angli3865]

I have a question, do you know were is this from? Is it a movie or a play, and who did it, i can't find anything like this.

[@animature4929]

Angli it’s an Ancient Greek tragedy called Medea. It is a play. 🙂 you can find it easily online if you’d like to read it. I don’t know about this particular inscenation though. 🤔

[@angli3865]

@@animature4929 I know, but who made this representation?

[@animature4929]

Angli I think people wrote it in the comments somewhere. I personally don’t know just looked through different interpretations.

[@lakehayden]

I have no words. IF ONLY I was made to watch this in school, my god

[@luismelendez9521]

I have to read this for homework thank you so much for posting this it was so much help

[@jucii7176]

I have to write an essay on it.

[@piecesofme8531]

No, you were given the gift of being exposed to this great work of art.

[@kenefdz]

At the risk of carbon dating myself, I saw this version when I was a high school senior in 1984. Dame Judith Anderson was a Star Trek fan, btw, and had a very small part in Star Trek: The Motion Picture as a High Priestess of the Khol-i-Nahr on Vulcan. And the "1st Woman of Corinth" (the eldest of the 3 women at the beginning of the play), played an admiral in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And the actor playing Jason was Will Riker's father in ST TNG. This should be called STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF MEDEA!!!

[@inkywells]

Holy crap, that's why they look/sound so familiar!!

[@genesimring3135]

The longer I live the more I realize how much great theater I am ignorant of. Why have I never seen this play before? Why have I not known of Zoe Caldwell until after her death?

[@jeffreyarsenault5135]

I saw Miss Anderson in this production in 1982 on Broadway. I visited Miss Anderson in her dressing room. In those days, they let anyone in.

[@oceancity415]

The 80s was the most awesome era in History! Everyone was so naturally happy sincere and friendly arcades and horror movies where everywhere and you could smoke ciggerettes inside malls restaurants banks buildings airports jumbo planes etc. I will always miss the ultra awesome 80s!

[@lobotimiseaha6965]

I am reading Morwood translation of Medea..this play adds many new brilliant dialogues to illustrate..From Hong Kong.

[@Gorboduc]

If you didn't know the nurse is played by the great Judith Anderson, who commissioned this translation from Robinson Jeffers and starred in it opposite John Gielgud back in 1947. She also played Mrs Danvers in Rebecca.

[@JustAPrayer]

Wow I didn’t realize that was the same actress. That’s really cool.

[@ae3898]

…and she also portrayed the Vulcan high priestess T’Lar in Star Trek III. I recognized the voice the instant I heard her.

[@MilkyFren]

I like how almost everyone here is here for a school project and I'm just here cuz i heard it was interesting

[@oceancity415]

You're here for a school project too dude🤣🤣😜

[@silverdandylmao]

Same here! I'm just here because I looked up Medea and this came up in my recommended 😂

[@I-love-your-father]

I’m in love with Ancient Greece and had only ever read the script before! This was amazing!

[@jamesbarry1673]

She makes me cry everytime I see this performance

[@davidls45]

Eisenhower Theatre in the Kennedy Center, March 6 (not the 18th) , 1982. Sorry to have to write twice. I’ve never seen this production , and I’m 76 years old. It is.beautiful beyond words. Ancient Greek theatre was filled with stories like this, hate and the rage that leads to ends filled with the overwhelming sorrow of life. Sophocles said it at the very end of Oedipus Rex : “it is better never to have been born. Once born, to die young, before the sorrows and pains of outrageous misfortune overtake you”. Not an exact quote, I read it many years ago.

[@galaburdakirill2]

"Not to be born is the best of all things for those who live on earth, And not to gaze on the radiance of the keen-burning sun. Once born, however, it is best to pass with all possible speed through Hades' gates And to lie beneath a great heap of earth." It is Theognis, not Sophocles.

[@diyaghosh1644]

Sophocles' words in Oedipus Rex: "Never call a man happy till he is dead".(by the Chorus). Well, this is all I remember

[@aloha3123]

The best actress ever! Amazing.

[@BS-jy9ul]

That was the best thing I've watched in a long time. Read the book The Chemical Muse by Dr. DCA Hillman, you will understand how real all of this was to the Greeks. Hail Medea!

[@oceancity415]

I have 1 hour to finish my Medea exam thank's for this video & Happy Halloween all my fellow classmates from all over America and overseas!😂😜👻🕰🎃

[@cannae216]

I saw this as a teenager in school 30 years ago and never forgot this performance. The all-consuming rage someone could feel... to kill their own children just to spite an ex. Nothing new under the sun.

[@J70a.m-zg6gi_wha0]

All good stories have more than one ending, and there are actually two ends to Medeas... Euripides version and the lesser-known ending where she does flee to Athens as the citizens of Corinth stone her two boys to death. The citizens of Corinth paid homage to this version by cutting locks from their children's hair and sacrificing them to the spirits of the children. This tradition ended with the sack of Corinth in 146 BC.

[@James-nv9fi]

Phenomenal performance. So many interpretations attempt to modernise and end up distracting from the text. This style of spartan (excuse the pun) dress is a perfect balance that I’ve not seen emulated in any other performance. Captivating.

[@h1RED.]

Im doing Medea’s first monologue and this is helping me alot

[@harvestcanada]

I love this version, but I think Euripides would've been appalled, because women were acting in it, ironic as this version, is a woman's story than about Jason. They don't make sequels like that anymore 🤣🤣

[@rick17345]

Wow, what a high school of actors!! I'm in awe....

[@silverdandylmao]

Amazing. I stumbled across this, it's simply amaizng!

[@Jerina369]

This is brilliant acting and dramatization. I thank this channel!

[@moganaperseus7912]

OMG the sound track at the end gives me goosebumps.

[@talesofadreamer5444]

Tnk u soo much..i was looking for this movie as it is my course so i need to study this..& now It's become soooo easy for me to memorize this novel❤

[@europebasedvlogs1251]

AP?

[@americalost5100]

Blown away by the story and the acting

[@emircruzfernandez9199]

She is amazing!

[@homltduk4322]

Beautiful absolutely love it 👍

[@j.o.1516]

Excellent ! - Thank you very much for posting.

[@rachelshort614]

I have just been cast in a production of Medea at my college. I'm playing a member of the Chorus, so I'm doing my research before rehearsals start

[@rachelshort614]

@Levi Maynard I start rehearsals next week and I'm super excited! The tech side of things is already in full swing and there's some really exciting things happening on that end of things. We did our measurements for props and costumes these past couple weeks. Our show is in December, so it's a lot of stuff happening in a short amount of time, but I'm excited to see how this project comes to fruition.

[@oceancity415]

@@rachelshort614 How are you able to memorize all of your line's

[@rachelshort614]

@@oceancity415 I'm not supposed to be off book until next Friday, but something that's been helping me is color coding what lines are said by myself and which ones are said together with the rest of the Chorus. There are also moments where we echo each other, so I put those in a different color as well

[@oceancity415]

@@rachelshort614 That's very cool! I'm doing the same in class we are color coding our line's and also using different colors to change the type of tone we use for every line. Today we just finished Medea. I also wish you the best in life!😁😁👍

[@prernapatel3679]

pov: your taking a high school theatre history class at one of the best arts schools in the USA and she assigned to watch all of this in one night. but you also have 4 finals and a whole scrapbook to finish by 11:59 tonight. its fine

[@simonhall8011]

Best line: 'Loathing is endless' - 1:11:59

[@setsen337]

My favourite character in greek tragedy, wonderfully portrayed

[@davidls45]

I’ve stopped the credits so that I can read the details. The production opened at the Clarence Brown Theatre, University of Tennessee. February 11, 1982.it then opened at the Eisenhower Theatre Washington, D. C. ,March 18, 1982. I can’t read the very end, I covered it as I typed.

[@user-sr7fj2tr1g]

Muito bom, excelente!

[@Hipsygirl]

I like that the Chorus was made with a triadic trope (the Maiden, the Mother, & the Crone).

[@ChadLEMcGhie]

Amazing work!

[@virtualcetacean9813]

Came to watch after seeing Overly Sarcastic Productions vid on Medea came out.

[@alexaliebmann9152]

pov- you’re here for classics and you hate it with your boris johnson looking teacher

[@alexaliebmann9152]

This is Mom. My apologies to teacher.

[@alexaliebmann9152]

Besides, Boris Johnson. does not look so bad.

[@silvia7058]

@@alexaliebmann9152 LMAOOO

[@annebellis1153]

Well Boris Johnson does speak ancient Greek

[@harvestcanada]

Compared to the BBC schools and colleges plays this is superior in quality and skill.

[@neileardley1907]

Thank you Emily ...

[@KawakebAstra]

thx4 post .. happy British Theater 🎭produced The Medea .. but English acting lacks true emotion .. .. it wonderful U posted this great classic

[@ohwell94]

With the Judith Andeeson version you can literally feel her spiral into insanity This one you can feel the simmering fury and rage and the hatred

[@user-gk8vb6dl9l]

In my rejection and disdain of modernity I've decided to start at the very beginning.

[@conningdale8805]

Wonderful performance!

[@sarahmason2946]

I'm NOT here for hw... am I alone?

[@miranda8598]

Nope. Not alone.

[@radhika5101]

What a gem.

[@zoyablake9538]

Brilliant!

[@MikeMcAughey]

Amazing!

[@conwaylai8562]

I'm here because the book of stoics say this is an important aspect to recognise in a person - a person without wisdom.

[@clairerobsin]

Thank you Emily

[@erpthompsonqueen9130]

Thank you.

[@TheJonesactor]

Rest In Peace, Zoe Caldwell.

[@srisruthi8937]

I've read that Medea flees in a flying snake chariot in the end, and Aristotle was angry that Euripides portrayed Medea like that since only Gods and Goddesses are shown in the way at the end of plays (the origin of dues ex machine). But I couldn't find that part anywhere on KZbin. So if anyone has seen it, please let me know.

[@maxbrunette1737]

medea went on to do a bunch of stuff after this she lived a long and full life and was one of the few women in greek myths who doesn't die at the end lol

[@ThePaganSun]

Actually, it depends. According to one popular tradition, Theseus (whose real father was Poseidon) drives her to exile or kills her since she was keeping his stepfather (King Aegeus) sick and ruling through him.

[@Normaschthewanderer]

She also got together with Achilles in the underworld.

[@juanpablosolorio5056]

Eurípides, inmortal

[@ioncrisu6861]

Bravo !

[@stfuinc.202]

that was fantastic

[@azeljoyportugues2580]

I never regret reading it. Such a tragedy.

[@daniellevelez7236]

please can someone add transcriptions

[@jayantabarman3151]

I'm currently studying the ending part of Medea

[@elviswafula3289]

Wow,so nice watching this

[@raisa_cherry33]

Currently studying this, awesome 👏❤❤❤

[@user-dg9tc1sw5x]

Raisa Cherry

[@cuernocabra9862]

Do you know which version is?

[@idavega-landow7821]

The things women do for love can be as terrible as the things they do for hate.

[@PabloRodriguez-kw6jx]

When she began to scream, the maid should has called 911.

[@kaylacuva9131]

this plays haunted I stg

[@abhiramakella7146]

Act II starts at 47:05.

[@jonetommi1671]

loved it

[@patod4]

Zoe Caldwell and Judith Anderson were great with their facial,expressions and voices, other actors too. My question is why, if you are not doing it the Ancient Greek style, with masks and big gestures, why do it this way...half a way...the bodies like Greek columns....no gestures.....just text. Of course the text is beautiful, but gesturing does not distract from the text. For me, this was a production that took it all down to the level of text. And I missed like hell the chariot deus ex machina at the end.

[@jonrutherford6852]

I agree about the deus ex machina. I saw an open-air performance of Medea in Kansas City some years ago, and they had the "authentic" machina at the end: it was hair-raising. In fact the whole performance was so good that I walked away openly weeping. I think I experienced the "catharsis" the Greek playwrights aimed to create in their audiences.

[@peakperformancetrain]

To drink insult like harmless water.

[@ChuckHenebry]

What production is this?

[@METALUNICORNLTD]

Thank you for sharing

[@ItsAlexHere4545]

Pov: ur only here to do homework 💀

[@lanitewhau5124]

Here for some last minute studying before an exam 👌

[@Tango27]

I am watching because of my daughter has homework 😡😞

[@xscwens4840]

I can't even...

[@erggish]

to be honest I didn't feel for Medea in this interpretation... she was portrayed like an evil person indeed... However, the first time I read the script I was wondering who was to blame, Jason or Medea?

[@Kay-dk3jk]

When I first read the script, this is not the way I imagined her to be. But I believe it is a good interpretation. To me, Jason is to blame, but Medea is also ruthless.

[@PungiFungi]

@@Kay-dk3jk Medea was the direct descendant of Helios, so she was part divine....and mythology have shown there are two set of rules for mortals and immortals. She is allowed to do what most mortal women cannot. And she have her divine heritage (grand daughter of the Sun himself) and magical powers to back it up (she turned Jason's father back into a virile young man and could conceivably do the same for him when the time came). Which is why it is practically out of character for Jason to dump her for someone else who is not even her equal...and for the King and Princess accept Jason when doing so with invite more trouble than its worth.

[@LunaDelTuna]

There's nothing more deadly than a woman scorned . Even tho she did some pretty fucked up shit before Jason wanted to leave her . The first red flag for me would've been when she poisoned her entire family and sent her father on the worst scavenger hunt ever to find his sons' body parts sprinkled all over the isle.

[@lamo1724]

@@LunaDelTuna watching this performance, what rings true is the inhumanity of it all. Everyone had their own agenda; ignoring red flags when there might be something to gain. Ancient Greek tragedies truly reflecting humankind in the 21st century. On a lighter note, 'red flag' always reminds me of that SNL skit :) xxx

[@KoreaMojo]

@@PungiFungi Isn't that often how it is? People leave a good thing in the wrong way for something less valuable on an in-depth level. It's because it's a flaw in the betrayer/fool, not a rational judgement, better opportunity, or a deed done of good will. It's a cheap trick to help the betrayer or fool to forget their deeper problems until the deflection wears off. Sometimes they get bad enough consequences from it pauses their impulsivity long enough to learn a valuable lesson or two. I wonder would Jason ever learn? It's better to be blameless than to invite retaliation because you can't control if the response is commensurate or multiplied.

[@nicholasmanila]

Is this a tv movie or a play?

[@brendan-kailerlieb4347]

This was a filmed version of the 1982 Broadway revival. It aired on PBS in 1983.

[@natashajanjua4769]

Nicholas Miklós Manila its tragic play of Greek era

[@billiamcalliam893]

Sir John Lennon says let it be even if the fog drappes the city let them be

[@semihekmen1245]

Who is this woman

[@ayyyitsyagirltab2647]

i have to do a prodject on this and im so comfused help me plzzzzzz

[@defvent]

She kills her kids

[@LunaDelTuna]

how did it go

[@RespecttheScreenplay]

Robinson Jeffers English translation

[@bellerieck6165]

pov: you read “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides

[@lindseywitte7913]

My theatre audition brought me here

[@jpa1214]

Wow

[@clivenaylor5392]

Freely adapted, note. They might at least have her fly off heavenward on a chariot.

[@marieconstant6452]

DOCTOR MEDEA QUOTES REAL MAGIC FORMULAE USED BY THE BLACK MAGICIAN