[mede:a]:

Vienna's Burgtheater (formerly imperial court theatre) is the second oldest and still functioning theatre in Europe (after Comédie Francaise). It is also Austria's national stage and one of the most important theatres in Europe today. Its repertoire, presented on four stages, includes both the classics and contemporary drama, as well as experimental projects and public readings of new plays. Since September 1999 Klaus Bachler has been the manager of this huge theatrical "enterprise". Under his directorship Burgtheater has opened itself up, as never before, to collaboration with very young directors and with foreign artists. In that chosen company we find Grzegorz Jarzyna (Chorzów 1968), one of the most outstanding Polish directors, whose performances (Prince Myskin, The Ceremony, Doctor Faustus, Psychosis 4.48, et al.) were shown with great success on the stages of Berlin, Avignon, London, Moscow and other European theater centers. Jarzyna actualized most of his directing in the Warsaw TR Theater (formerly Teatr Rozmaitosci), where he has been art director since 1998, and as of 2006 he is the general director. For his production of Medea on the Kasino stage of the Burgtheater, Jarzyna received the prominent Nestroy Award of Austria for best directed drama of the season, and Sylvie Rohrer got the same award as best feminine actress for her interpretation of Medea.

Grzegorz Jarzyna's [mede:a]: is a thoroughly modern, original version of the ancient myth made famous by Euripides' tragedy. The Greek myths tells a story of Jason's wife who helped him to get the Golden Fleece and then was betrayed by him - Jason cheated on her with the daughter of the king of Corinth. In retaliation, Medea first murdered her rival (by sending her a robe steeped in poison) and then her two children she had with Jason. Jarzyna's production is a result of many months of improvisation in association with the dramaturg Michal Walczak. Medea AD 2006 is a Georgian (and thus also comes from the area of the ancient Colchis), but her Jason is an aggressive businessman who brings his wife and two young sons to Vienna. Justine, a young governess hired to help with the children, proves to be not only easy to seduce, but also, thanks to her connections, very useful for the greedy Jason's career. Instead of the ancient chorus, advice for the lonely and increasingly depressed Medea comes from a rather ghastly elderly married couple. Mr and Mrs Tenor are neighbours almost as helpful as those from Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. It is from them that Medea gets the sleeping pills with which she kills herself and her children... "I'm trying to find out - says Grzegorz Jarzyna - what is happening inside human beings who have found themselves on the edge of life's precipice. What makes them go to extremes nd cross the boundaries. I can only sense that they plunge into darkness step by step, not noticing how deeply they immerse themselves in it. And then a drastic decision is only a matter of time."

Thrilling! Fascinating, suggestive images inspire the imagination. Laconic sentences conceal horrors: betrayal, infanticide, total destruction...
Eva Maria Klinger,
Wiener Zeitung