Review: Eurydice (Melbourne Shakespeare Company)
So much of our art is an attempt to speak to the dead
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told many times before, and is currently on display in Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s production of the play Eurydice by American playwright Sarah Ruhl.
Dripping in grief, Ruhl places Eurydice and her father at the centre of the well-traversed Greek myth. Eurydice is coaxed into death by the Lord of the Underworld’s promise of letters written by her father. After Eurydice has lost her memory to the river, it is then up to her father to remind her who he is.
So much of our art is an attempt to speak to the dead. The moments between Eurydice and her father are by far the highlight of the show. Aisha Aidara and John Voce carve out a tender and sweet relationship between the two characters. There is a strong truth to their reconnection as Eurydice asks her father to recall memories of his childhood. She gets the chance to ask him all the questions she never thought to while he was alive. Memory is precious and fleeting.
In particular, John Voce’s performance as the father is astonishing. He captivates the stage from the moment he steps out, flask in shaky hand. The father is the emotional heart of Eurydice and Voce carries that role extremely well.
However, the rest of the play is emotionally turbulent. While Ruhl’s commitment to focus on Eurydice and her father shines in their scenes together, for the most part she offers nothing new to the famous myth.
Both the characters of Orpheus and the Lord of the Underworld seem shrunk beyond supporting roles to merely footnotes in Eurydice’s story. They are reduced even to caricature at times, especially for the Lord of the Underworld. After he seduces Eurydice to her death, he does not impact her journey in any material way.
Despite their ample stage time together, there is no real strength to the connection between Orpheus and Eurydice. Their early scenes together are infected with a bizarrely chosen naivety. The musician comes across as disposable, which takes away any emotion from the tragic end to their story.
More interesting than either of them is the cast of Stones who linger in the realm of the dead as uninterested guardians. The trio of odd performances from Joshua Gordon, Miles Paras and Fran Sweeney-Nash give an interesting dimension to the play which had much further potential unexplored. Overall, the language of the play often feels awkwardly torn between modern vernacular and poetic eccentricity.
Despite its strange tonal variations, Gary Abrahams’ direction is spatially sound and well assisted by Nathan Burmeister’s striking set design which makes efficient use of the fortyfivedownstairs theatre space and creates some truly exciting visual moments. The borderline defunct phone booth as a portal to the underworld is a brilliant touch, as is the use of plastic sheeting as a barrier between worlds. Grace Ferguson’s score provides a haunting and unsettling atmosphere.
Rating: Recommend
Play: Eurydice
Writer: Sarah Ruhl
Theatre: Melbourne Shakespeare Company
Director: Gary Abrahams
Starring: Aisha Aidara (Eurydice), Tomáš Kantor (Orpheus), Devon Braithwaite (Lord of the Underworld), John Voce (Father), Joshua Gordon (Big Stone), Fran Sweeney-Nash (Little Stone) and Miles Paras (Loud Stone)
Dates and venue: fortyfivedownstairs until 14 June 2026