REVIEW: VENOM by Emma Burnell at Golden Goose Theatre 14 – 18 November 2023

‘A contemporary riff on the Medusa myth’ ★★

Medusa, the ancient Greek gorgon, had snakes for hair and could turn people to stone with one glance. In this contemporary riff off this old myth, she’s a middle-aged woman, with “tits gone South” who lives in a house with a leaky roof on an island in the North Sea. She had a hit song once that went on to become a classic feminist anthem. And when Percy, an angry young man who was spurned by his girlfriend spouting Medusa’s lyrics decides to seek revenge, a violent confrontation ensues.

Emma Burnell, the writer of Venom bravely acts the role too in her first time on the stage since she was a teenager. After decades as a journalist and political campaigner, Burnell returned to her first love, theatre, initially as a reviewer and then as a playwright (No Cure for Love, Triggered) and now as a performer and singer. She even offers up a couple of throaty rock songs telling stories of broken hearts and defiance with strands of the original myth sewn through the lyrics.

Even though Venom is a show of one hour with no interval, it feels like a play of two halves. Part one woman cabaret/stand-up and part two-hander. Although the play’s themes are alluring, the production is left wanting. The opening is static, and the story all delivered in the past tense. The transitions are not smooth but jolt audiences from one place to another. While audiences won’t quite be turned to stone, some may struggle to find an emotional connection. That said, it’s satisfying to see Medusa, the monstrous gorgon reinterpreted as a human-sized, proud female with dead-pan delivery and the hero of the story recast as a pathetic ‘small’ man who fears women. Venom, a timely proposition, calls out this deep rooted misogyny for what it is.

Box Office https://www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk/whatson/venom

Third Act Productions

Directed by: Michael Palmer

Music by: Chris Tortioili

Cast: Emma Burnell and Will Meadows

Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf