Presented by Canterbury Shakespeare Festival
Hippolytus is the son of King Theseus and his first, but foreign, wife, Hippolyta, the Amazon. On her death, Theseus has taken the much younger Greek born Phaedra as his second wife.
The goddess Aphrodite is displeased with Hippolytus for being a determined celibate. His passion is hunting and he is devoted to Artemis, the virgin goddess of the chase. Aphrodite plans to punish Hippolytus by making his mother-in-law Phaedra fall in love with him, so that when Theseus discovers this, he will call upon the sea god, Poseidon, to destroy Hippolytus.
In a new translation by Michael Gould, this production will be directed by the translator and Fiona Kettle, as part of the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival’s spring offerings.
Poster by Elizabeth Stone