In September/October 2011 I directed Phaedra's Love for Reduced Circumstances at The Arcola Theatre

Cast:

Phaedra – Joanna Roth

Hippolytus – Nicholas Shaw

Strophe – Emma Keele

Theseus/Doctor/Priest – Rupert Holliday Evans

Policeman – Andrew Venning

Policeman – Will Cooper

Laura Riseborough, Kes Gil-Martin, Andrew Venning, Elizabeth Merrick, Ray Burns, Mark Ebulue, Laura Gardiner, Maisie Turpie, Jessica Chamberlain, Will Cooper, Will Lucinda Westcar, Perry Lambert, Will Wheeler, Gary Merry, Briony Morris.

Designer – Anna Bliss Scully

Lighting Designer – Tom White

Sound Designer - Steve Mayo

Stage Manager – Elizabeth Fielding

'A 70 Minute Tour De Force...Don't Miss.' - The Morning Star ****

"Carr's production ascends to a kind of blissful horror' - The Times

'There's a heady, nihilistic intensity to the action...it's a chilling descent into savagery' - The Evening Standard

'Bronwen Carr's atmospheric production is worth an hour of the strong stomached theatre goer's time' - Time Out

'A Spirited revival....Best of all, however, is the fierce climax of this 70-minute story, when Carr fills the claustrophobic, dusty space with a large, noisy crowd which demonstrates, riots and performs unspeakable acts of brutality. An uncomfortable evening, during which the characters more than once call out to God and are answered only by silence, turns into an appalling image of social collapse' - The Arts Desk

'The mark of a good play – or any work of art for that matter – is whether it can be reinterpreted for events outside of those it was written.Phaedra's Love passes with distinction.The cavernous new Arcola building provides a perfect urban setting, and Nicholas Shaw as Hippolytus and Joanna Roth as Phaedra shine in a production that at times – particularly at the end – creates a genuine sense of menace. It's not for the fainthearted, but well worth a visit.'- Islington Tribune