Cast triumph over Greek tragedy

The cast and crew at the West End premiere of Deborah Warner's Greek tragedy Medea were relieved to emerge from the performance relatively unscathed.

Star of the show Fiona Shaw, who plays the jilted child-slaughtering Medea, confessed to being struck by an ear infection during one scene while a female of the stage crew badly injured her hand after pulling down the ropes.

Ms Shaw said: "The margin for error is enormous because the play is so live. I have an ear infection from the water in the pool but you go on because there are three things happening at once."

Her leading man Jonathan Cake, who plays Jason, also admitted to being drained from the performance which has no intermission.

He said: "It's a bullet train at just one hour and 20 minutes. It can all easily go wrong and there will be nights when it will go wrong. Everything is hard-earned." The production was originally staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin last year, its artistic director Ben Barnes said it had transferred well to the Queen's although the set in the Abbey had been more panoramic. He said: "We may have lost in width but we made up for it with depth. I think it has grown and matured."

The audience gave the cast a standing ovation although some were concerned about the violence.

Ashley Brown, a doctor from Whitechapel, said: "It was stunning and shocking. I think it may need an 18 certificate because of the scene where she murders those kids." The audience last night included Lynda La Plante, Kathy Burke and Geraldine McEwan. The play continues at the Queen's Theatre for a limited 12-week season.