Mike Bartlett visited The Palace Theatre 18 months ago with his very successful product play Love, Love, Love and his latest offering Medea, a modern version of the greek tragedy by Euripides, doesn't disappoint. In fact it has a show stopping finale that matches any I’ve seen over the years.

The production can be enjoyed on several levels. Comparing the modern interpretation of a play written two and a half thousand years ago, was very entertaining. Watching as the cast revealed contemporary cornerstones of that ancient stylized plot was riveting. Revealing, as the yarn unfolded, how current and relevant many of the issues are today.

That's not to say that all the updating worked seamlessly but mostly it did and to fantastic dramatic effect when a variety of different genres of music were used, while the action played out on stage. A really tight ensemble cast delivered very solid performances and carried the mystical ingredients of this theatrical illusion perfectly.

Rachael Stirling as Medea was superbly evil, sexy, cunning and vengeful. A truly flawless performance.

Paul Brendan, Lu Corfield, Christopher Ettridge, Adam Levy, Amelia Lowdell and Paul Shelley all turned in top draw performances and were provided with a really innovative set on which to perform by Ruari Murchison.

It is rare to be treated to such exciting theatre as this and well worth a visit to experience this epic ancient/modern tragedy.

Paul Henley Washford