Medea

Through Feb. 14, $22-$24, Villanova Theatre, 800 Lancaster Ave., 610-519-7474, theatre.villanova.edu.

by Mark Cofta

Paola Nogueras

theater

Euripides knew a thing or two about longevity. That's why the ancient Greek playwright's Medea is still performed — he dramatized issues that still resonate today. "The central problem of the play," says Villanova Theatre professor Shawn Kairschner, "and of much of Greek tragedy, is the division between male and female culture." Medea, banished when husband Jason marries another woman, takes bloody revenge. Euripides shows a strong woman constrained by her culture. This could happen in any number of eras, but the 1950s and '60s inspired the Kairschner-directed production at Villanova: "[This was] the last time this division along gendered lines existed in our culture, before the advent of the women's movement and the resultant move of women into traditionally male spheres: the workplace, the country club, the three-martini lunch." Kairschner's a confessed "avid follower" of TV's Mad Men, where the gender gap is likewise smart, sexy and dangerous.