‘Medea on the Mic’ is an extremely captivating exploration of reclaiming your story, filled with Glaswegian charm and wit. Tonight on the mic, it’s Medea! Join everyone’s favourite princess-sorceress for one hell of a good time as she shares stories of when she was Scottish and swaggered into the wonderlands of Berlin, Tehran and New York. Other guests on the mic include her bitter ex Jason (of the Argonauts) and old pal the Chariot Queen. Medea on the Mic is a feminist, queer retelling of the ancient Greek story with Glaswegian inspirations, featuring music and an innovative soundscape.
Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh has opened the door to how we can explore mythology within theatre allowing audiences to resonate with these characters who seem so beyond our realm. This feminist retelling puts the power back into Medea’s hands, allowing her version of truth. Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh’s use of language was powerful, punchy and poetic – her depiction of motherhood and the language used to describe the essence of motherhood was particularly beautiful. The Glaswegian influence that weaves throughout the story adds a huge depth to the character of Medea, she is powerful, fiery, quick witted and yet a sadness seems to loom over her that she has to reclaim.
Hannah Jarrett-Scott was encapsulating as Medea, her naturalistic approach to the character hooked the audience in almost immediately. Jarrett-Scott demands the attention of the audience with her exceptional storytelling ability. Jarrett-Scott has the ability to make a character extremely entertaining and charismatic while somewhat familiar – causing you to root for them. Throughout the performance she maintained great energy and committed fully to the writing, putting great focus on the delivery of the text.
Reuben Joseph was outstanding as Jason (of the Argonauts). Joseph wowed the audience with his extremely mesmerising soundscapes throughout the performance, highlighting his vocal range and pitch. Joseph displayed a great emotional range within Jason’s time “on the Mic”, his depiction showed a great inner conflict between Jason’s true self and the man he wants people to think he is. Joseph has a great connection with the audience, he displayed dedication to exploiting the sinister nature of this version of the character using intense eye contact and facial expressions.
Marc Mackinnon is exceptionally likeable as The Chariot Queen. Mackinnon has a natural ability to draw an audience in, his comedic timing is brilliant. Mackinnon used intonation to add flair to the character and had the audience in stitches at times with his brilliant delivery of the text. Mackinnon brought a lightness to the performance, allowing the audience to relax following some of the tragedy that occurs – he was a beacon of light and joy to watch.
The direction by Philip Howard was extremely creative and used absolute simplicity to allow the text to be at the forefront. The blocking has an intimate feel to it, drawing the audience to be a part of this retelling. The use of the soundscape adds to the intimacy and the artistry of this performance. Due to this intimacy, as the performance grows perhaps staging it in the round would give an added feel to the audience’s role in the performance.
‘Medea on the Mic’ is an extremely clever text, the language is expressive and beautiful. The story is powerful and the cast who portray it do it complete justice. Although the performance is polished and is at a great place, it’s somewhat moreish – I believe that it has the potential to grow further and I’m extremely excited to see the development of this over time. If you’re looking for a first class Play, Pie and a Pint head down to Òran Mór this week!
Medea on the Mic – Play Pie Pint
📸 – Tim Morozzo
Theatre Scotland 
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