In the Tap Gallery’s intimate Downstairs
theatre, a table stands, laid for a banquet. A man sits at the table, hungrily
stuffing his face with food, a headless deer lies in front of him, and four figures
stand around the space statues. This is Euripides’ Phaedra, as told by Lies,
Lies and Propaganda (henceforth LLP), one of Sydney
Phaedra is the story of a woman (Phaedra) who
falls in love with her stepson Hippolytus, and the effect it has on the family
and the way the gods intervene and clean up after the tragedy. Like all Greek
tragedies, Phaedra is grandiose,
epic, full-blooded and, well, tragic. In the hands of LLP’s artistic director
Michael Dean, Euripides’ play becomes an examination of erotic
shame, sacrifice, passion and
synth-pop.
