Oran Mor, Glasgow
Four stars
Life is a curse for the street-smart queen with the messy domestic life in Nikki Kalkman’s reimagining of Greek mythology. Instead of simply bumping off her heroine after her incestuous affair with her more dramatised son, Kalkman has Jocasta arrive with a flourish as she attempts to gain an access all areas pass into the Underworld. Amidst designer Gillian Argo’s celestial looking array of curtains, Jocasta is forced to tell her story to the unseen godlike gatekeepers, purging her own demons as she goes.
As Jocasta offloads all, from one night stands with muscle-bound himbos to becoming an abused trophy bride at the hands of king Laius, where ‘the fingerprint of every day was bruises and boredom’, it is clear Jocasta has been damaged enough to warrant some kind of intervention. As she gets herself the ultimate toy boy to die for, alas, the sex may be great, but as the local gossips aren’t shy of pointing out, it’s complicated.
Kate Nelson’s ferocious production for A Play, a Pie and a Pint’s lunchtime theatre season sees Zoë Hunter give a mighty solo turn as Jocasta. As the blood-spattered survivor confesses all in a roaring display that looks somewhere between a stand-up audition and a citizenship exam, Hunter’s Jocasta comes on like a gangster’s moll caught in the crossfire of a particularly nasty family feud.
The punchline, when it comes, sees Kalkman’s Jocasta take charge of her own life - and death. Her unapologetic roar of defiance as she finds her voice gives full vent to her desires all the way to the grave in this bold new rendering of an ancient story where women finally come first.
The Herald, April 8th 2025
Ends
Comments