The stage is divided in two. Medea A is on stage left, while Medea B is on stage right.

Perhaps a veil separates the two spaces.

They are in the middle of their respective spaces, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting. At their feet, arranged symmetrically, are cards, crystal balls, plants, candles, books of magic, and other magical objects, according to the imagination.

Perhaps, as if in a dream, a filmed or drawn scene depicting the event described by Medea is projected behind her. But it is also possible to perform without any projected images.

A narrow beam of light illuminates the Medea who is speaking and fades at the end of her monologue, while a diffuse light remains. The Medea who is not illuminated practices magic and laments in silence (or cries out and hurls insults; if she speaks in phrases, she repeats them over and over like an incantation).

If Medea A recounts the exaltation of betrayed passion, Medea B helplessly sees Jason's true, cunning nature.

Scene 1a: Medea tells how she fell in love with Jason

Medea A:

Jason was the spokesman for the Argonauts. He came to my father's palace, the palace of the King of Colchis, to tell us that they would not break camp until we had handed over the Golden Fleece. He said they were giving us forty days' grace, and that once that time had passed, they would attack the palace, kill all its inhabitants, rape the women, and slaughter the children.

I was hiding behind a column. I heard everything. Sometimes I would hide in order to listen to my father, the king, and the affairs of his kingdom...

That was how I met his gaze.

Those eyes... those eyes contained all the plants of the earth within them, all the browns, all the greens, all the blues of the flora...

I think that, at that moment, I understood why destiny had made me a sorceress: so that when I saw him, I would know; so that I would love him as the most precious thing in the world to me. Greater than the earth, greater than the highest mountains, carrying me into the sky like an albatross...

Those eyes overwhelmed me so completely that, for an instant, I forgot to make myself invisible, and he saw me.

Just long enough for me to realize my mistake: he turned his head and saw me.

It was enough to fascinate me.

I could have used my magic to dispel the spell that clouded my sight...

But I did nothing.

And yet he was the enemy, the invader, the feeble threat that made my father laugh with defiance.

For my father Aeëtes had placed part of his soul at the entrance to the treasure, in the form of a dragon of flames. An impassable wall to anyone but his own spirit...

To my misfortune, those eyes kept me from sleeping. I do not know what spell they cast upon me, but I could not rid myself of them by any means.

Though did I truly want to?

I must trick myself, find the paths that will lead me to you.

Scene 1b: Medea tells how she met Jason but remained indifferent; at most, Jason found her pretty

Medea B:

I too was hiding behind the pillar of invisible magic.

And he saw me too, and I felt my heart falter, but I did not know how to name that enchantment.

I had spent nights buried deep in the pages of my books, but I had not found the name of this affliction.

Yet it seemed to me that this affliction truly was an affliction.

I did meet Jason, but it was indifference that settled between us. At most, he found me pretty.

Dear indifference.

Then the scenes follow one another, but they take two entirely different paths.

The sorceress Medea catches sight of what might otherwise have happened had she never loved Jason.

And so that mad pride takes what might have been regret and wears it as a mask.

Medea becomes a bitter woman whom no one can help.

Interlude with Creon

Medea A:

Creon, this earth that you throw in my face, this earth...

would be far better beneath my feet.

It is gently warmed by the sun all day long,

and, like a reflection of the sun, my heart would receive it as I walked upon it all day long with my children.

Instead, it is my face, not my feet, that receives this accursed earth,

and my face spits it back out and curses it...

My insulted mouth knows only how to sow fire and storms,

and my earth-stained eyes take pleasure in watching your fields of wheat rot before the harvest...

The fire that does not radiate from my heart will radiate across your land,

the land you would not let become mine,

the land that did not choose me.

Medea B:

It is true. I am unworthy.

I let my father disinherit me and I killed my brother,

but would I do the same to everyone who lives on this island?

I do not think so.

For what I did, I did for one man alone,

and he is now your son-in-law.

You see, everything I did, I did out of love.

And if your daughter truly loves him, she too may kill you and your son in the same way.

They say I know magic.

It is true, I know how to seduce,

but my powers do not last forever,

and no one ever taught me how to wield love.

Medea A and Medea B:

Go on, gather up your earth.

It is no good.

My offended face wants none of it,

nor does my mouth wish to kiss it.

It will bring you nothing but fire, misery and hunger.

That is what happens when you drive the worker bees from the hive...

A moment of breathless silence.

Anger rising.

Then, peacefully:

Some people would like to turn lead into gold?

So many are already turning gold into lead.

It is so much easier to turn gold into lead.

And how many people know how to make gold from any metal at all?

We are surrounded, drowning in apprentice alchemists who boast that they know how to light the flame, but know nothing of what to do with it.

As for me, my lead is my lead,

and my gold is my gold.

Go on.

Keep hiding your cities of lead beneath layers of gold.

My kingdom is made of gold,

and I carry it within me,

lighter than my soul.

​

Scene 2a: Medea tells how Jason did everything he could to see her again

Jason is intrigued by the appearance of this fairy and uses every means at his disposal, and all his cunning, to find her again.

He seduces her, but finds in her only the charm of mystery.

Once that mystery has vanished, what he had mistaken for feelings will disappear, and all that will remain is his debt to the sorceress for the help she gave him.

Medea A:

This is what happened:

One day, a man arrives. He is Greek; we are barbarians.

This man has come for the skin of an old dream.

And what happens?

He crosses paths with a beautiful young stranger.

A banal story, you might say?

A woman whom the greatest of chances brings together with a man.

To him, this stranger is a fairy.

Every woman, for that matter, is a fairy in a man's eyes.

A woman is, in herself, a foreign land.

Jason is intrigued by the appearance of this fairy and uses every means and all his cunning to find her again.

He seduces her but finds in her only the charm of mystery.

Once that mystery has vanished, what he had taken for feelings will disappear,

and all that will remain will be the debt owed to the sorceress for the help she gave him.

Medea B:

Is that what you desire, poor girl?

Debauchery?

Fornication?

Medea A:

I took you because destiny placed you before me.

It told me:

"Here. Take him. He likes you."

And I took you as my lover.

Chance had offered me to you.

And I accepted.

I took you just as I pleased you.

Medea B:

License, pride, hubris...

He flattered your beauty,

he flattered your magic,

and so you took him.

But he will be the one to take you!

So falls the one who thought she could make another fall...

Scene 2b: Medea tells how she resisted loving Jason

Medea B:

Look at my hands, they are wrinkling.

Look at my eyes, they are fading...

My skin grows old in a single day.

The cards say it is him!

But they also say that two paths will appear...

and it is the path you did not choose that I will take.

I too could love him,

but I will refuse to admit it.

In his eyes I saw nothing but cunning.

From his mouth I heard his demands,

the demands of his pack of dogs,

but also his own:

his venom...

What you took for honey,

I touched,

and I saw blood in it,

bitterness...

And this bitterness is a poisoned arrow

that kills with a single glance.

As I resist it,

I feel myself becoming bitter.

This honey, Medea,

is tar with the sweetness of feathers,

and it will suffocate you!

Medea A:

You were wrong.

Serves you right...

Look at me.

I regret nothing.

Nothing at all, do you hear me?

Even if, for that, I must descend into the deepest purgatories,

I will not take remorse with me into the underworld.

Medea B:

But I resisted!

I resisted Jason!

Medea A:

So what?

Medea B:

I resisted...

Interlude with Creusa

Medea A and Medea B:

The fire inside you,

the fire outside you,

that is remorse!

...

And you will die of it!

Simultaneous movement / blackouts by Medea A and Medea B

Simultaneous movement / blackouts by Medea A and Medea B

Medea A and Medea B:

The fire inside you,

the fire outside you,

that is remorse!

Medea A and Medea B:

And you will die of it!

Medea A and Medea B:

It is you who burn far away inside your fortified body.

Your palace, so refined,

of marble, gold, mosaics and the finest silks,

will burn just like your heart!

There is no castle on this Earth

large enough,

beautiful enough,

for Jason...

You will burn alive,

walled inside your sorceress's body,

and it is you yourself, stranger,

who will drape yourself in the misery of your own death...

Medea A:

The fire inside you...

Medea B:

The fire outside you...

Medea A and Medea B:

That is remorse!

Scene 3a: Medea tells how she succumbed to the charm of the cunning Jason and, in order to seduce him, offered him an ointment

Medea A:

I succumbed.

I succumbed to the charm of cunning Jason.

Irresistible...

Perhaps I did not want to resist?

Perhaps I even wanted to succumb?

A tender violence we inflict upon ourselves by refusing to resist.

A troubled mask:

on one side, you smile;

on the other, you grimace.

What can we do?

What can we choose?

Why choose at all?

One must live humbly,

rather to protect oneself from the fall than out of morality.

Medea B:

In a sense, with or without humility,

we are all ants in an anthill.

What does it matter if we have known the paths of other gardens?

When we return to the anthill—

for we cannot escape it—

we must renounce,

or at least not regret—the nostalgia—

for the green meadows.

We must be content with the earthen walls

and the narrow tunnels of the anthill.

That is where happiness lies.

Certainly, a happiness without tall grass or sunlight,

but a happiness without falls or outbursts.

We pay the price for outbursts;

we have no right to complain about them afterward.

It is those who choose a bland life, without risks,

and those who live it wildly but pay for it,

who must bear the consequences.

Medea A:

It is always the same question:

how much are you willing to live?

Medea B:

And to seduce him, you offered him an ointment.

How many hours did you spend making it?

You will tell me that, above all, it was your happiness...

That perfume you will never wear,

that you imagined for him,

to seduce him,

and that he will probably never wear...

You think people are seduced by perfume,

by talent;

whether it was made by your hands

or someone else's,

what difference does it make?

If lovers were awarded according to merit,

everyone would know it.

But the people who deserve love the most

are not the ones who are loved the most.

There is much to be gained from not doing too much,

from not being too much.

Be like the other person,

neither more nor less,

neither a danger

nor a faded image.

Mediocre,

neither more nor less.

The less you do,

the less you frighten people away.

Medea A:

It is wonderful to love you, my love,

and every day I am astonished

to love you more...

Medea B:

I have barely seen you.

Tomorrow,

I will already have forgotten you.

Scene 3b: Medea tells how Jason charmed Medea in order to achieve his aims

Medea B:

To thank her, the traitor asked her to marry him,

and the poor girl accepted.

Medea,

how could you fall into his trap?

You should never have helped him.

The poor wretch could no longer sleep.

Not because desire kept him awake, as he told you,

but because he knew he was sacrificing himself.

And yet, while his ambitions commanded him to ally himself with a sorceress,

he listened only to those ambitions

and forgot his heart,

shamelessly.

Ah, the traitor!

How glad I am that I never loved him.

Spit in his face while you still can!

He is a traitor.

Look!

He is a traitor!

And you thought you could make him yours with your magic,

little fool,

but look, just look:

it is he who takes you through his cunning.

The love you make together

smells of death...

The chariot you took for the triumph of his conquest

is nothing but the vehicle of the man manipulating you.

The being upon the chariot—

that is not you!

He is an actor performing the comedy of love,

and you imagine yourself the victorious blonde conqueror

triumphing over him...

Little fool,

spit in his face while there is still time!

Spit!

Spit!

Spit!

Words must be mistrusted

like the plague.

Scene 4a: Medea tells how proud she is that Jason defeated her father thanks to her help

Medea A:

How proud I am that Jason defeated my father.

Thanks to me!

Thanks to me!

Oh, how happy I am,

how proud!

Medea B:

You are proud that Jason defeated our father thanks to your help.

How can you?

How can you?

Medea A:

I am proud!

I am so proud!

Medea B:

It is our father you sacrificed!

The one who gave you life,

the one without whom you would be nothing,

the one without whom you would know nothing...

Medea A:

No one becomes my lover with impunity,

and the one I choose as such

must be worthy of me.

Scene 4b: Medea tells how happy she is that she did not betray her father for love

Medea B:

Is that what you desire, poor girl?

Debauchery?

Fornication?

I am happy that I did not betray my father for love.

It is true,

I do not love as you do.

It is true,

for a passing lover,

I prefer the quiet tenderness of a father and a brother.

It is true,

perhaps I am a plate of rice without salt,

and I will never know the taste of chili,

the excitement,

like you.

Perhaps all my days are alike,

like a plate of rice without salt.

But it is my daily bread,

and it nourishes me well.

I do not want to discover that it is bland

because of one of those whims you know so well how to indulge.

I do not want my dish to become bitter

once the taste of chili has faded.

You cannot make a destiny out of such chilies;

their flavour is too strong

and they eat away at us from within.

Make them your daily bread,

and you no longer feel their flavour in your mouth.

More and more,

stronger and stronger.

Life then becomes an escalation,

and eventually there is no chili left within reach

to cover the blandness of the previous one,

or worse,

the taste it has already left behind in your mouth.

...and what you think is bitterness

is nothing more than bread without salt.

Don't eat that chili.

There is still time.

Spit it out,

vomit it up!

But no...

you slyly slip it into your mouth

and let it melt,

all the more exasperated by my prayers

and my pleading.

You know that this chili is your poison.

But since you listen to nothing,

since you resign yourself to suffering

the most atrocious inner torments,

soul,

body,

and heart,

eaten away by poison...

even though you are a sorceress,

there is no antidote.

You know it.

The poison is stronger than the counter-poison.

Your soul has already resigned itself to it.

Interlude: The Stranger

Medea A:

And who am I?

Medea B:

You, Medea?

You are a stranger.

You are without a land.

Everywhere, you will be driven away.

Medea A:

Neither Colchis, your homeland,

nor the sea,

nor Iolcus,

nor Corinth

is your homeland.

Medea A and Medea B:

And who am I?

Medea A and Medea B:

I am Medea the landless.

Scene 5a: Medea tells how Jason asked her to marry him

Medea A:

Man,

join your body of iron to mine,

woman with a body of copper!

You asked me to marry you.

To seal our two bodies,

our two souls,

with a golden ring!

There,

just like that,

you looked me in the eyes

and said,

"Medea, I want you for my wife!"

In a firm and commanding voice.

You said it.

Those words came out of your mouth

and filled my mind.

I did not even have time to think.

I was already entirely yours,

the answer,

a "yes",

before you had even had to ask.

Before you even knew that you wanted me for your wife,

I knew I would be yours.

Before you even wanted me for your wife,

I knew I would pay for it

with your contempt

and with oblivion.

Scene 5b: Medea tells how Medea fell into Jason's trap

Medea B:

Men wage war in order to feel alive.

They would rather have plague,

pain,

the brush of death,

than peaceful happiness.

It is when their heart beats too hard,

perhaps for the last time,

that they truly feel it.

Mine beats all the time,

regularly.

It did not even stop when he crossed your path.

Not even the slightest furrow of the brow...

But you fell.

Marriage—

what could be worse for a woman

than the burden of being chained to a creature of Mars,

when we are gentle Venuses?

A warrior,

whose presence does not make you tremble,

a man who needs the sound of cannons,

the smell of blood,

and the whispers of death

to feel alive.

Ah,

you sorceresses may well try to compete with them,

with your gentle words,

your ointments,

and your honey-soft skin.

You must become the plague itself.

Without that,

you will be nothing but their shadows...

But she fell into Jason's trap.

Medea fell into Jason's trap!

​

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