On Tuesday afternoon we saw Cleansed, the first of the two Sarah Kane plays being produced at the Fringe by Fear No Colours. This afternoon we will be seeing the other, Phaedra’s Love. Here’s the promotional blurb: “News. Another rape. Child murdered. War somewhere. Few thousand jobs gone. But none of this matters – because it’s a royal birthday. When Queen Phaedra falls madly in love with her stepson Hippolytus, catastrophe is inevitable. The prince has no interest in anyone’s affections, and his apathy soon throws the nation’s morals into irreparable turmoil. Sarah Kane’s dark comedy turns Greek tragedy inside out – in surprisingly literal ways! Strongly visceral and experiential performance with movement and video.”

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was inspired to book for these two plays on the strength of finally having seen Sarah Kane’s Blasted in Sheffield in February. Phaedra’s Love looks like it should be a very dark comedy indeed – I’ll be fascinated to see how the production treads the balance between shock and humour. It starts at 16:15 at C Nova Studio 2, so please come back around 5.30 to see our reactions. Our next show preview blog will be available too.

Update:

More shock than humour in many ways, but another excellent production from this company. A fantastic central performance from Callum Partridge as Hippolytus, a more charmless and depraved bloke it would be hard to imagine. What I love about this company is how they use every available inch of acting space and fill it to the gunwales. They portray the violence of the story with in your face fearlessness, and where they have to leave realism behind, represent Kane’s excessive imagination with an ingenuity that’s inspired yet still feels pretty disgusting. And it’s all performed with immaculate control. I hope they go from strength to strength and I look forward to seeing what they do next. PS Happy birthday Callum!