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Medusa’s take on the Trojan Wars reveals a startling modern relevance
Deborah Pugh as Medusa [Camilla Adams23]

Beautiful Evil Things
The Tobacco Factory


CO-CREATOR and solo performer Deborah Pugh illuminates the empty, dark stage with her 75-minute account of the Trojan Wars from the perspective of the petrifying gorgon Medusa. The riveting performance focuses on the roles of three women, enabling the female-centric narrative to provide a fresh reassessment of events.

Contextualising the three women with their backstories and ultimate fates woven into the decade-long war, Pugh's narrator is no longer seen as the ultimate horror but as one of three gorgon sisters tasked with being eternal record keepers, the guardians of truth.

Her refusal to edit their account for Zeus's sake leads to her transformation and ultimate brutalisation. This struggle for truth in a world dominated by males and their egos lies at the heart of this taut production.

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