Birmingham School of Acting

Based on the Greek tragedy, Racine's retelling of this ancient story is one of the most famous classical French dramas. Phedra is a woman betrayed by her own desires - her lust for her step-son in her husband's absence.

She descends into a personal hell of shame, degradation, guilt and remorse. Robert David MacDonald's brilliant contemporary translation captures the poetry, drive, and style of Racine's original, as the powerhouse characters and the plot hurtle towards an inevitable conclusion.