Q&A: How Expandido Arts Collective is reimagining the Medea myth

Following their 2023 Toronto production of The Rage of Narcissus, the Expandido Arts Collective is staging Brazilian playwright Grace Passô’s contemporary Medea adaptation Kill Your Father.

Originally written in Portuguese as Mata Teu Pai, Passô’s play reimagines the myth of Medea through a contemporary feminist lens. Translated and adapted by Marcio Beauclair and Matthew Romantini, Kill Your Father introduces the Brazilian play to new audiences.

Directed by Beauclair and performed by Maria Paula Carreño-Martínez, the production will play at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Bob Nasmith Innovation Backspace after earlier iterations in Brazil and the U.K.

Intermission connected with Beauclair and Carreño-Martínez over email for a brief Q&A about translating Passô’s work. Their responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

You first encountered Grace Passô’s Mata Teu Pai in Brazil. What compelled you to translate and stage this version of the Medea story now, for Canadian audiences? 

Marcio Beauclair (MB): I’ve long been fascinated by the myth of Medea, particularly Euripides’ tragedy. When I encountered Grace Passô’s version, I was struck by its political perspective. Passô, a Black Brazilian feminist playwright, reframes the story in a surprising way: instead of Medea killing her children, the play suggests she should kill the father, Jason. That shift turns the myth into an allegory about confronting the patriarchy that oppresses women — which is why the play is called Kill Your Father.

As you adapted the play into English, what felt essential to preserve from Passô’s language and politics? Where did you allow yourselves to reshape it for diasporic contexts?

MB: In my previous adaptation of Sergio Blanco’s The Rage of Narcissus, I reshaped parts of the text to situate the story in Toronto. This time, Matthew Romantini and I stayed very close to Passô’s script. Her words already carry a strong political urgency, so we preserved the language and ideas as faithfully as possible. 

As a director, though, I brought additional political and activist elements to the staging and created a few new moments using Passô’s language. Our version therefore feels more raw and visceral than the Brazilian production I first saw, which included a poetic chorus of women from the community. I also explore Medea’s immigrant experience more directly — something that resonates strongly in Canada. As the exiled Medea says in the play, we are all living on a land that is not our own.

You describe the piece as a “punk drama.” What does punk mean in your theatrical vocabulary, and how does that sensibility collide with the classical tragedy you’re reworking?

Maria Paula (MP): When Marcio and [Expandido co-founder Renato Baldin] first described the piece as a “punk drama,” I immediately felt it in my stomach. Punk suggests opposition to authority and a willingness to shock, and that’s how the play feels every time I perform it.

Through Marcio’s direction, we also explore a close and immersive relationship with the audience by performing in intimate venues and breaking the fourth wall. In this world, no one can escape Medea.

Medea’s infanticide remains, in my view, one of theatre’s most disturbing acts. What ethical or emotional encounter with that violence are you inviting audiences into?

MP: In this version, the “infants” are the audience, so the encounter becomes direct. I believe the ethical and emotional questions belong to the audience to reflect on after seeing the piece. 

As Medea, I approach them closely — through words, touch, and presence. I teach them, nurture them, protect them, and love them. But audiences should also consider Medea’s perspective: for her, the most maternal act may be ending suffering. 

I can’t say much more, or I’ll spoil it.

As the production travels between Brazil, the U.K., and Canada, what has shifted in the piece, and what do you hope this Toronto chapter carries forward?

MB: The original Brazilian production had a different creative team and a more culturally specific approach. The version we’re presenting in Toronto grows out of the staging we developed in England last year, which we designed for international audiences. 

Around the world, we continue to witness violence against women, but we also see women speaking out and demanding accountability. We hope the Toronto run contributes to that broader conversation and helps carry forward the call for justice and dignity.

Kill Your Father runs at Theatre Passe Muraille from March 19 to March 29. More information is available here.

Expandido Arts Collective is an Intermission partner. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.

WRITTEN BY

Krystal Abrigo

Krystal is Intermission’s Publishing and Editorial Coordinator. A Scarborough-based writer of Philippine and Egyptian descent who enjoys reading bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin. At any given moment, you can probably find her at a concert, or on a long walk somewhere in Toronto (or elsewhere).

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