Type – Greek myth, Tragedy
If you like – Hadestown, Greek Mythology
Eurydice: A gorgeously crafted new take on the Greek Myth which often feels afraid to show us its broken heart
Eurydice, written by Sarah Ruhl, centres the character Eurydice in the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It presents the old story in a unique tone along with added elements – such as Eurydice’s father – while also shifting the role of characters like Hades and Orpheus. It’s a bold pick for Melbourne Shakespeare Company coming off the acclaimed Hadestown tour last year.
At the heart of this story, Eurydice is about the grief between a father and daughter who never had enough time, which Melbourne Shakespeare Company centres at all possible moments. Set designer Nathan Burmeister has put the underworld downstage, a prioritised and almost outside eye space, aiding the idea that we are watching the show from the perspective of the father. We love her as he does.
Aisha Aidara as Eurydice is impossible to take your eyes off. Her movements and inflection are erratic – deeply instinctual of a strange creature. Aidara completely embodies the offbeat and unrhythmic nature of Eurydice. She leads the audience to take on her earnest desperation and joy that seems to explode out of her. Meanwhile, John Voce is heartbreakingly beautiful as the father of Eurydice, grieving and alone but painstakingly selfless and patient with his daughter. The chemistry built between Voce and Aidara is tender and slips in some joy whenever a moment is found.
The frame for the upstage bedroom is short, forcing our gaze downward, like we are watching a show in a 10:1 ratio. Making The Underworld – though cold – open and unrestricted. The use of plastic sheets throughout are an incredibly lovely collaboration between director Gary Abrahams and Burnmeister. Covering the space after Eurydice is brought to the underworld in ghostlike quality, while also gesturing towards abandoned or moving houses. It’s later transformed to become the barrier and passageways from the surface to The Underworld; it’s delicacy porous but still ensnaring.
Utilising a TV in the bedroom, Justin Gardam created videos that would come on periodically throughout the show. Sometimes it was a quick montage of difficult to comprehend clips or slow and prophetic scenes to come. It created an intelligent extra tool to unnerve the room, especially during Eurydice’s capture.
The trio of stones played by Joshua Gordon, Fran Sweeney-Nash and Miles Paras are comedic highlights as well as the perfect tone setters for levity in the play. As they begin to care for Eurydice and her father, the more they get to expand. Gordan in particular was a standout with his immaculate and spiky stage presence and incessant giggles that would become missed during tense moment.
It’s of no surprise that Hadestown is an explicit reference due to Artistic Director Jennifer Sarah Dean being a resident director for the Australian tour last year, though it also means it’s difficult to not compare the two. This is most obvious in Tomáš Kantor’s Orpheus and the musical direction by Grace Ferguson. Kantor’s Orpheus is gentle, oblivious, and full of scattered desperation. Though they took a backseat to the narrative, Kantor creates an Orpheus that lets us lean on the charming and sometimes awkward poet, while also examining his sharper edges and exposing his less attractive qualities.
The composition feels incredibly reminiscent of the musical, which on its own is not bad, but I found myself thinking about Hadestown and it’s themes rather than the story in front of me. It’s hard to escape the musical when looking at this myth, but I do wonder if a new flavour of sound could have been created to avoid a one-to-one comparison.
Rounding out the ensemble is Devon Braithwaite as The King of the Underworld. Braithwaite when he first appears in the delightful Telstra telephone box immediately tips the scales of power and seduction. The directorial decisions for the character did lose me frequently, however this may also be an issue pointed towards the script. Though Braithwaite’s unconventional entrances and his tap solo always got laughs, the breakage of the tone didn’t feel as though it helped build towards anything other than a stripping of the carefully built pathos. It kept us at an emotional distance from the play as a whole, especially as the King’s tantrums grew more childish and pushed him further away from the rest of the tone the ensemble, direction and design had created.
Is Eurydice Worth Seeing in Melbourne?
Eurydice is clean and has a strong ensemble, but at times – and often due to the script – doesn’t fully let the audience in. There are stunning moment of spectacle aided by the work and core dynamics of the piece, but I wonder if there’s a world where I could have left Eurydice in tears if it had let itself show us it’s ugly bleeding heart just a little bit more.
Tickets and Practical Info for Eurydice in Melbourne 🎟️
VENUE: fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne
SEASON: 28 May – 14 June 2026
DURATION: 90 minutes
RATING: 16+
TICKETS: https://fortyfivedownstairs.com/event/eurydice/
Creatives
Sarah Ruhl
Gary Abrahams
Nathan Burmeister
Spencer Herd
Grace Ferguson
Justin Gardam
Jennifer Sarah Dean
Cast
Aisha Aidara
Tomáš Kantor
John Voce
Devon Braithwaite
Joshua Gordon
Fran Sweeney-Nash
Miles Paras
