Art & Culture

Medea by Euripides — Karyofyllia Karambeti (Night 1)

Karyofyllia Karambeti returns to Medea 29 years on, directed by Nikita Milivojević. 100 minutes, €25.

This is the big one of the Greek summer, and it lands in Chania for two nights. Karyofyllia Karambeti first played Medea in 1997 and comes back to it 29 years later, which is the whole point: a woman old enough to carry the weight of the thing rather than perform it. Serbian director Nikita Milivojević keeps the classical spine of the text and lets the memory run underneath, with a twelve-strong company, Reni Pittaki as the Nurse and two musicians live on stage playing Dimitris Kamarotos's score. It runs 100 minutes straight through. Performed in Greek without surtitles at this venue, so it rewards knowing the play. The moat theatre in August, with the walls holding the heat, is close to the right room for it.