A very interesting programme article will tell you the difference between the multiple takes (the National’s programmes remain the most informative and best value for money in the capital) but what audiences really need to know is that this is very much Simon Stone’s Phaedra, and he has once again done what he effected upon Lorca’s Yerma at the Young Vic then subsequently in New York in 2016-7.
‘The actors create a compelling story as soon as the lights go on’: PHAEDRA – National Theatre
Simon Stone turns his attention to another important literary woman, Phaedra as imagined by Euripides, Seneca and Racine and given a modern retelling in a production at the National Theatre written and directed by Stone. Stone’s vision for Phaedra is riveting in a piece that explores mature sexuality, fantasy and generational competition between mother and daughter.
NEWS: Billie Piper’s Yerma returns to Young Vic, Joe Wright directs Life of Galileo, Juliet Stevenson takes Wings
Billie Piper’s reprises her award-winning performance in Yerma at the Young Vic, where other new shows in 2017 include Juliet Stevenson in Arthur Kopit’s Wings and Life of Galileo directed by Joe Wright.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Yerma at the Young Vic Theatre
Billie Piper plays the titular Yerma, a woman who is desperate for a child, in Simon Stone’s production of Lorca’s classic. It opened at the Young Vic Theatre last night (4 August) and continues until 24 September 2016. So what have critics made of it?
YERMA – Young Vic Theatre
“Allow for a three-gin recovery period” advised a tweeter during the previews of Simon Stone’s take on this perennial theme of baby-hunger leading to marital, mental and murderous disaster. Quite right. It is the most shattering night at the ever-intense Young Vic since the psychiatric-hospital Hamlet with Michael Sheen.
NEWS: Billie Piper takes title role in Lorca’s Yerma at Young Vic
Billie Piper will take the title role in a new play based on Lorca’s Yerma written and directed by Simon Stone, his first original work for the UK. The run opens on 4 August 2016 (previews from 28 July) and has now been extended to 24 September 2016.