REVIEW: SNAKEHEAD by Samuel Rees at The Hope Theatre until 24 June 2023

‘There was a missed opportunity in reinventing this myth’ ★★

In a town of the middle of nowhere, M lives, waitressing, until she falls head first into a love affair with one of the holiday-home owners. She is caught up in nude photos being released of her, once she ends it with the unnamed swanky London man. It's a retelling of Medusa, but set in Norfolk, or at least East Anglia. M, our Medusa, is from working class Norfolk, but with no accent and proclaims she's 'f**king' because she waits tables at a coastal cafe. If it's about a regional female voice, it would have been nice to have had one. The greatest problem here is, if that's what she doesn't want, what exactly does she want?

Samuel Rees' script is all fury, and Sian Maxwell really does embody this in an energetic performance, but it does serve the 'strong independent woman' trope and does not seek other layers to M. It was difficult to connect with her if there's only one emotion explored on stage.

The original compositions are atmospheric and pulsing, but the lyrics are repetitive and most of the songs do not clearly move the story along, nor support M's journey. Max Alexander-Taylor, as co-musical director with Rees, provides however some ambience-heavy moments in the music which does elevate the monstrosity of femininity at the core of the myth. What should we really fear about Medusa? 

There was a missed opportunity in reinventing this myth, instead of perpetuating female victims of the patriarchy. When those behind the creation of a play are not representative of the characters on stage, there's a higher likelihood that the representation will not be accurate. And in this case, it's important for women to tell their own stories.

Images: Steven Gregson

SNAKEHEAD

At The Hope Theatre 6 – 24 June

https://www.thehopetheatre.com/

Writer and director Samuel Rees

Performed by Sian Maxwell

Co musical director Max Alexander-Taylor

 Reviewed by Emma Godwin