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It was the title, Fury, that first galvanised me to put pen to paper. A punch in the face name for a play that literally hits you between the eyes. A play which is raw, real, powerful, and intimate.
“Fury”: rage, anger, an agitated extreme emotional state—violence.
I was both intrigued and a little afraid—what would I see? Could I bear it—bear witness to it?
Fury is based on the Greek Myth of Medea by Euripides (431bc). For those who are not familiar, Medea was married to and then abandoned by Jason (of the Golden Fleece fame). She ends up alone, disenfranchised, excluded, and exploited by circumstance. Diminished so entirely that she turns on herself and her two sons; killing them and herself. A final desperate act.
Fury is billed as a modern response/reworking of the aforementioned text. It is a contemporary modern take on the classic myth set in the urban here and now: London 2016.
It is a co-production by Soho Theatre and Damsel productions. Soho Theatre is a launch pad for many contemporary cutting edge works and Fury is written by Phoebe Eclair-Powell who is their writer in residence.
I think it is also no coincidence and perhaps a celebration that Damsel, as the title may indicate, exists with the key aim of actively placing the female voice centre stage. This is a beautiful, authentic, and current example of just such a voice. One of the many voices currently fighting to be heard in this post-Brexit, ever shifting current, political landscape.
I saw it in a small Soho theatre space, sitting in the round where we could collectively see the shock and indignation etched on the faces and bodies of the assembled audience, as the drama unfolded.