love turns fatal
a tragedy by
Euripides
adapted and directed by
Dhyan Ruparel
Mother, wife, foreigner. In a week, Medea has lost her husband, her reputation and now her home. Will she do anything to get revenge?
This bold adaptation of Euripides’ Medea brings life to one of the world’s oldest and greatest plays about love, desire and betrayal. Performed by a company of BAME students, this version celebrates the play’s remarkable resonance to current conversations on displacement, belonging and identity. Stunning live music, ferocious performances and dynamic design collide in a powerful retelling that marks one of the biggest shows to hit Cambridge in 2026.
As Medea, former princess of Colchis, learns that her husband Jason has left her for the young daughter of the King, she spirals. Dissatisfied by the advice of a gossiping chorus of neighbours, and a revolving door of old advisors, she turns to the worst acts imaginable. This Medea embraces the powerful violence and rage of the original, and asks how you can make a home in a world that deems you foreign.
The team behind Medea is delighted to present , a festival of creativity that features insightful talks, workshops and events. Free and exclusive to Medea ticketholders.
9:45pm, thursday 7th may 2026
Dr Shushma Malik will speak about what creative practitioners have tried to achieve when adapting ancient plays, and how important issues of contemporary culture have become to the retellings of familiar stories.
Shushma Malik is Associate Professor in Classics at the University of Cambridge and the Onassis Classics Fellow at Newnham College. She specialises in Roman history and classical reception studies, and she has published on topics relating to political and literary culture. She is the author of The Nero-Antichrist: Founding and Fashioning a Paradigm (2020) and co-editor of Representing Rome’s Emperors: Cultural and Historical Perspectives through Time (2024).
4:45pm, saturday 9th may 2026
Rani Selvarajah will discuss 'Savage Beasts', her novel adaptation of the Medea myth, as well as the questions of race, displacement and translating antiquity that underpin both versions.
Rani Selvarajah is writer whose work has been longlisted for the Mo Siewcharran Prize and Tara Theatre NOVA initiative. She studied Classics at the University of Cambridge and has a MSc degree from SOAS University of London. Rani also works in feminist policy and research, having worked in the non-profit sector for over a decade. Her debut novel, Savage Beasts, is a reimagining of the Greek myth of Medea, set in the 18th century during the rise of the East India Company. She is from north-west London and lives with her partner and young daughter.
MEDEA is an ambitious play with a talented team, bringing together some of the best in Cambridge's BAME community. Learn a little bit more about the team making the biggest show in Cambridge here!
Dhyan Ruparel
director
Dhyan is a writer and director, currently studying English at Robinson College, Cambridge. Cambridge credits include: Spider's Web (ADC Theatre) and Magic Buttons (Downing New Writing Festival). He is currently developing his first Fringe play.
Joseph Henderon
producer
Joseph has broad experience in leading technical and production roles in and out of theatre. Cambridge Credits include Spider's Web at the ADC Theatre. He reads HSPS, driven to address global problems like climate change.
Bella Phillips
associate director
Bella studies English at Peterhouse. Previously working on DNA (2025) and The Great Gatsby (2026), she is thrilled to combine academic and theatrical interests in tragedy on working on Medea, the play which excited a love of theatre in her originally.
Cían
associate director
Cían, a 2nd-year classicist, is incredibly enthusiastic about all Greek theatre. He brings his own family/personal experiences of immigration to a play wrought with racial and national tensions, and is delighted to help direct this wonderful play.
Sadie Zadeng
set & costume designer
First year English student, set designer, and Brecht enthusiast.
Aisling Sinclair
welfare officer
From Sound Designer for Serious Money (ADC, 2023) to Production Manager for CUADC/ Footlights Pantomime: Jack and Beanstalk (ADC, 2025). Aisling, a History finalist, is excited to go out the way she started: keeping things wild and whimsical.
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Tickets are now on sale at adctheatre.com/medea. Book early to avoid disappointment.