Sarah Kane-Yeah She Went There…

I have to level here, I really like her adaptation of Phaedra-Phaedra’s Love. It is crass and crazy and full of sex! It seems like the complete opposite of Seneca’s version, which had absolutely no sex. In Kane’s, everyone is screwing everyone, and Hippolytus is still a lofty asshole. There is a scene where Hippolytus is playing video games and Phaedra walks in and goes down on him. Does he respond, not really, he just says that she had better have herself checked for a STD. Absolutely nuts!

“Hate me now?”

My favorite part is not the story, but the way that Sarah Kane shocks us. I enjoy this shock. In a way I think it is more real, more life like. There are no rhymes, just brutal life filled with all the assholes that we find in our lives. Of course we don’t have some one’s penis getting cut off, or a father having sex with his daughter in front of a crowd. Or even a priest going down on him. But over all it is not only modern, but has the back and forth feel of actual dialogue among real people.

I also just love his (or Kane’s) commentary on life, what is life? Just filling up time? God, I feel like I do this sometime, it’s scary honestly. Her character has no fear and can say with no fear that our lives may have no meaning what so ever. Go him and go her, of course with thoughts like that one may be lead to kill themselves.

Phaedra

I am not really a fan of Seneca’s Phaedra, it pretty annoying. Here is this chick who is married, but she wants to have sex with his son. First off that is just nasty, seriously nasty.

What she wished would happen…

The son is like: I don’t life vagina.

So there is no chance of anything at all happening here, the son doesn’t even like ladies, and Phaedra is too horny for her own good. But she still tries to get with him. When he shuts her down she kills herself,(I would too if I were that fucked up in the head) and leaves a note that says her son, Hippolytus tried to rape her. Like that would even happen, I am sure that he thinks that vagina have teeth that would not only eat his penis, but also his soul. Of course the dad comes home and flips out when he finds his dead wife, and then goes bat shit when he reads the note. He sends Hippolutus into banishment, praying for Poseidon to kill his son. The gods is like I have the perfect plan, he sends a giant bull to kill Hippolytus. This bull hits this dude so hard he explodes, I mean for real, body part everywhere, arms in a tree, guts on some grass, he is even impaled in his junk….ya Seneca went there…messed up.

Still needs more body parts-needs to to look more like he ingested semtex.

Then the his father learns that he screwed up, and he tries to reassemble his not blown apart son. Of course he can not do this, he is not Frankenstien. Now he wrought with distress for he no longer has his wife or his son. So sad really. While I don’t mind a bit of gore, I can’t help but to feel that pain of loosing it all. In this case I just can’t see Pheadrea as the tragic person, it is the father, he was lied to by his wife, and as a result he murdered his son. Of course he was not without sin, his mom is Medea, and he did have sex with an amazonian, so I suppose there is no tragic person. It just depends on wheather you take side with someone. At this point I think they are all crazy. I also think that is a messed up way to go. At what point could this whole thing have changed pace? A level head? Of course what would be the fun in that? We need a larger than life person to meet some end to have a tragic ending. What better an ending then a father seeing his dead wife and accidentally killing his son, then a curtain close with him and his lonely grief.

Medea is Pretty Awesome

I really like this character Medea. She puts up with no ones shit, she loves deeply, and she hates just as deep. Imagine if Jason would have just stuck by her side and found a new place away from the world as they knew it, what if he threw off his ideals of being royalty, he might have found happiness. Instead, he cheats on her and incurs not only  woman’s wrath but also the wrath of a witch. Regardless of what version you read Medea is a powerful woman, with a passionate heart. I know she killed her children, but I don’t fault her for it, I am not saying it was wrong, i am just saying it is hard to be rational when some one has shit on all that you are and all that you have created, especially if you gave up a good royal life, killed some people and essentially stood by your loved one-only to have them cheat on you. To revenge makes sense to me, there is a saying that I like that I believe applies to the reason why she killed her sons instead of Jason himself: “Death is a release, not a punishment” (Anon). If she would have killed him, she would not have had her revenge in the same powerful and satisfying sense that she actually find when she ends his bloodline and kills his new wife. I really do think she is a badass. Would I have the courage or imagination to think of that, nope, I sure wouldn’t. I would just leave or kill the bitch. So my life would be boring in a play. It’s sensational to kill a few kids, it really makes a statement that I am sure few others things could. I prefer Seneca’s method of showing us the deaths of these kids, rubbing our faces in it, making us feel all the more. I would rather feel a full effect then a half-assed or fearful measure of it.

SHOW ME THE WOUNDS, THE BLOOD.

Don’t be lazy or fearful of the sight of blood, it’s all natural really, so why hide it. Medea did not hide her actions, she would not have even tried, she believed strongly in her methods, and more so the results. The crumpled man who Jason became was perfect for Medea to see, it gave her some measure of closure. I am not saying that I condone killing kids, but in this fiction, its great, sensational even, it leaves me proud of Medea, and glad that she got what she needed.