Phaedra's Love

Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love, directed by Bronwen Carr is a modern take on the Greek tragedy by Seneca. As an in-yer-face drama, Phaedra’s Love aims to shock through violent sexuality and taboo topics and imagery, startling the audience out of complacency.

Hippolytus, played by Nicholas Shaw, is the object of his Step-Mother Pheadra’s desire and this attraction taboo is a catalyst setting off a tragic course of events. As this love in unrequited, Phaedra humiliates herself after giving him oral sex, only to be rebuffed in a manner that is cruelest in Hippolytus’ bored indifference. In disgrace, Phaedra commits suicide- though not played out on stage- and leaves a note implicating her stepson as having raped her. The scene of Phaedra’s death is intensified using projected images, semi transparent newspaper displaces that are evocative of the death of Princess Diana. The elements of tragedy all in place, the tone can be described as a bitterly ironic critique of the royals and the obsession which surrounds them. For the audience, it is particularly alienating, in that neither Phaedra nor Hippolytus inspire compassion, though for Phaedra one can empathize, if only reluctantly.

The most poignant scene is between Hippolytus and a priest, whose interaction provides an insightful critique on religion and intention. This is demonstrated when Hippolytus refuses confession as a means of cleansing, but rather he tells the priest that confession allows one to commit many sins, enabling sin, through the guise that once confessed ,one is absolved. After which the priest, as if surrendering, gives Hippolytus a blow job, which I believe should not be seen as an excuse for more “vulgarity,” but rather a demonstration which seals Hippolytus’s logic as truth.

One element that distracted from the overall intensity of the production was in the casting decisions, specifically Phaedra and Strophe, played respectively by Joanna Roth and Emma Keele. Keele plays Strophe, Phaedra’s daughter, yet both appear to be similar in age, and thus their interactions as mother and daughter seem somewhat ridiculous, and momentarily confusing when they’re relationship is first introduced. Also in poor casting was Shaw as Hippolytus , who is called fat by every family member, and by himself, while in reality, Shaw is of average build, making these supposedly serious comments laughable. Another distraction that hindered the performance was when part of the stage collapsed while an actor was climbing the stairs to reach the top deck. I was sitting close to this part of the stage and so my attention was drawn to the loud noise, and at first I was not sure whether it was intentional. However, after seeing the actor fall and realizing it was an accident, I was preoccupied by the thought that he might have been injured. Yet, for those sitting on the right side of the theatre or center to the stage, this incident did not seem to distract. Unfortunately for me and others in my position, a critical moment was partially missed, as this all happened during the climactic scene of the riot, Strophe’s rape, and bloody castration.

The seating arrangement at the Arcola theatre allowed for very different perspectives, making it difficult for those on either side of the stage, and in rows further back, to witness all of the action during this closing scene. Yet, despite these hindrances, the play was successful in utilizing shocking, and at moments vulgar imagery and situations as vehicles for a critique of British society.


-Sarah Sykes