Lighting Design for Medea

Medea is a play by Kate Mulvany and Anne Louise Sarks based loosely on the Greek tragedy by Euripides. The work centres on the events leading up to the infanticide of Medea’s children at her own hands, but in a departure from the Euripides, Mulvany and Sarks make the children the protagonists of the work within an entirely contemporary setting. The production was set within children’s bedroom in Brisbane, in the here and now, placing the issue of domestic abuse and family trauma to the forefront of Euripides’ ancient themes.The naturalism within work dictated a setting that was as real and immersive for an audience as possible. The set was a detailed rendering of the children’s bedroom shared by the two young brothers, complete with a ceiling and hints of the rest of the house through a doorway upstage. This realistic space was separated from the audience by panes of glass. The lighting of this space posed some significant challenges. The space was lit internally in a naturalistic manner but slowly developed, moving and changing in colour temperature throughout – initially with subtlety but eventually in a more dramatic way. Combining with the soundscape the lighting drew the audience into the work highlighting the mythic sources of the text whilst simultaneously underlining the helplessness of the audience to intercede with the protagonists trapped behind glass. The work was bookended with reflecting the audience in the glass.