The UMass Boston Performing Arts Department is putting on a production of Euripides’ “Medea” until April 11 at the University Hall Theatre for this semester’s on-campus theater production.
The play is directed by theater history professor Robert Lublin. He believes that in 21st century America, the ideas that words matter and pronouncements have consequences no longer have the same significance as they did in ancient Athens. “Medea fits the current moment,” he said. “Words should matter today. If someone lies, it should have consequences, and this play drives that home.”
Accountability starts to look a lot like revenge in “Medea.” The title character resorts to killing her own children after her husband Jason — known elsewhere as the leader of the Argonauts — leaves her for another woman.
A reception on April 3 hosted by Classics professor Kenneth Rothwell discussed the play and its historical significance. During the reception, Rothwell mentioned the real life case of Lindsay Clancy, a Duxbury woman accused of killing her three children — all under the age of 10 — who is now awaiting trial.
In an interview, Rothwell made it clear he does not see Jason’s betrayal as justification for Medea’s actions. He said Medea stands out even within the violent and dramatic world of ancient Greek tragic figures.
“She is a little on the extreme side,” Rothwell said. “Now that’s saying a lot, because there are people in ancient Greek drama who are pretty ferocious and awful.”
Jason’s character is not defined by victimhood or described as saintly. Lublin compares him to “an oily 21st century politician” when discussing his ability to rationalize bad behavior. Joseph Meuse, who plays Jason, found it difficult to empathize with, or even broadly relate, to the character. He sees kinship between Jason and certain male online entities that reject any sort of empathy towards women — an attitude he also described as “very typical.”
“This man is a very different man from what I’ve been taught to be and what I’ve been told is a good man,” Meuse said. “For Jason, it’s very much a ‘might makes right’ sort of world.”
Samantha Stanley, who plays Medea, sees her struggle for recognition, and what Medea considers justice, as emblematic of what women continue to experience throughout much of the world. She feels Medea isn’t given adequate recognition by Jason for her role in the Argonauts’ retrieval of the golden fleece, the ancient Greek myth that brought Jason and Medea together in the first place. Somehow, nothing Medea does for her family is good enough. Euripides, in Stanley’s opinion, was ahead of his time, daring to endow a female protagonist with agency — albeit in an extreme way.
“No matter what women do for the men around, they will still be blamed and shamed for the things around them,” Stanley said.
She argues that contemporary audiences, including UMass Boston audiences in particular, may, in fact, relate to Medea — despite the decisions she makes. Though her actions, by most contemporary standards, are extreme, her version of commitment to family is never actually condemned by the gods, which in both Stanley and Meuse’s view is telling. Even if you believe ancient Greek gods are entirely human inventions, the gods’ approval or disapproval in the narrative may well be an indicator of how some of those humans feel about things like infidelity and betrayal.
“The gods would have interfered if they thought what she was doing was wrong,” Stanley said.
Though he agreed to host the reception Apr. 3, Rothwell says he doesn’t learn very much about human nature from the play.
“I know people can be horrible,” he said. “It’s very clever, the way [Euripides] comes up with ideas that try to minimize the horror of what Medea has done, but they’re not that persuasive to me.”
Lublin is drawn to ancient Greek tragedy in part because of its imperative to deal with moral issues head-on. Interestingly, the play did not gain significant recognition at the time it was written in sixth-century B.C. It took several centuries and much cultural change for it to gain traction and popularity. Rothwell said this may be an indication that a willingness to explore moral ambiguity was too much for contemporaneous audiences to take in at that time. But Lublin believes contemporary audiences, including college-age students, are ready to take on “Medea” in all its ambiguous grey.
“Greek tragedy, more than any other genre, is the most moral form of drama,” Rothwell said. “It’s talking about how we all ought to act, and when we don’t, there are consequences.”
The UMass Boston Performing Arts Department is putting on a production of Euripides’ “Medea” until April 11 at the University Hall Theatre for this semester’s on-campus theater production. The play is directed by theater history professor Robert Lublin. He believes that in 21st century America, the ideas that words matter and pronouncements have consequences no longer have the same significance as they did in ancient Athens. “Medea fits the current moment,” he said. “Words should matter today. If someone lies, it should have consequences, and this play drives that home.” Accountability starts to look a lot like revenge in “Medea.” The title character resorts to killing her own children after her husband Jason — known elsewhere as the leader of the Argonauts — leaves her for another woman. A reception on April 3 hosted by Classics professor Kenneth Rothwell discussed the play and its historical significance. During the reception, Rothwell mentioned the real life case of Lindsay Clancy, a Duxbury woman accused of killing her three children — all under the age of 10 — who is now awaiting trial. In an interview, Rothwell made it clear he does not see Jason’s betrayal as justification for Medea’s actions. He said Medea stands out even within the violent and dramatic world of ancient Greek tragic figures. “She is a little on the extreme side,” Rothwell said. “Now that’s saying a lot, because there are people in ancient Greek drama who are pretty ferocious and awful.” Jason’s character is not defined by victimhood or described as saintly. Lublin likens Jason’s ability to rationalize bad behavior to “an oily 21st century politician.” Joseph Meuse, who plays Jason, found it difficult to relate to the character. He sees a pattern between Jason and certain men online that reject any sort of empathy toward women — an attitude he described as “very typical.” “This man is a very different man from what I’ve been taught to be and what I’ve been told is a good man,” Meuse said. “For Jason, it’s very much a ‘might makes right’ sort of world.” Samantha Stanley, who plays Medea, sees her struggle for recognition, and what Medea considers justice, as emblematic of what women continue to experience throughout much of the world. She feels Medea isn’t given adequate recognition by Jason for her role in the Argonauts’ retrieval of the golden fleece, the ancient Greek myth that brought Jason and Medea together in the first place. Somehow, nothing Medea does for her family is good enough. Euripides, in Stanley’s opinion, was ahead of his time, daring to endow a female protagonist with agency — albeit in an extreme way. “No matter what women do for the men around, they will still be blamed and shamed for the things around them,” Stanley said. She argues that contemporary audiences, including UMass Boston audiences in particular, may, in fact, relate to Medea — despite the decisions she makes. Though her actions, by most contemporary standards, are extreme, her version of commitment to family is never actually condemned by the gods, which in both Stanley and Meuse’s view is telling. Even if you believe ancient Greek gods are entirely human inventions, the gods’ approval or disapproval in the narrative may well be an indicator of how some of those humans feel about things like infidelity and betrayal. “The gods would have interfered if they thought what she was doing was wrong,” Stanley said. Though he agreed to host the reception Apr. 3, Rothwell says he doesn’t learn very much about human nature from the characters of Medea. “I know people can be horrible,” he said. “It’s very clever, the way [Euripides] comes up with ideas that try to minimize the horror of what Medea has done, but they’re not that persuasive to me.” Interestingly, the play did not gain significant recognition at the time it was written in sixth-century B.C. It took several centuries and much cultural change for it to gain traction and popularity. Rothwell said this may be an indication that a willingness to explore moral ambiguity was too much for contemporaneous audiences to take in at that time. Lublin is drawn to ancient Greek tragedy in part because of its imperative to deal with moral issues head-on. But he believes contemporary audiences, including college-age students, are ready to take on “Medea” in all its ambiguous grey. Said Rothwell, “Greek tragedy, more than any other genre, is the most moral form of drama. It’s talking about how we all ought to act, and when we don’t, there are consequences.”
