Medea's Got Some Issues

A parody of and a tribute to Euripides’ classic tragedy from the perspective of a has-been Chicago diva.

Medea’s Got Some Issues, the mischievous brainchild of award winning Spanish playwright Emilio Williams, is another text in his repertoire that isn’t scared to comically and absurdly deep-dive into the inner life of a misunderstood woman. What better narrative to play with than that of Medea in order to excavate into the politics of gender and identity? This fearless solo performance is adapted for every reincarnation, as it is an actress-specific, city-specific and venue-specific text.

Previous productions of this critically acclaim show include performances in Spain, Argentina, and Estonia. The U.S. premiere production received the Best International Show Award at United Solo Festival in New York. That production was followed by the Washington D.C. premiere, produced by No Rules Theatre, starring Lisa Hodsoll. The original reading of the play in Washington was sponsored by SPAIN arts & culture. The Washington Post called it: “A Killer comedy from a Spanish playwright (…) Witty (…) Hilarious.”

Lisa Hodsoll returns now to the role in this new production adapted for her, Stage773 and the city of Chicago. More than 2,400 years after the premiere of her play we meet Medea, at this point a washed-up has-been of an actress, who presents without inhibitions, the mitigating and sordid factors surrounding her infamous case: from the sexual haste of her husband, Jason, to the misogynistic and xenophobic environment of classical Corinth. The result is a surprisingly hysterical, dark comedy that invites audiences to re-examine one of the vilest characters in theater history while claiming back the universal power of theatrical catharsis.