Hayley Atwell - Theatre - Prometheus Bound

[updated 18 March 2011]

Production: Prometheus Bound
Theatre: Sound Theatre, London
19 August - 9 September 2005

Cast
David Oyelowo
Hayley Atwell
Michael Dixon
Ciaran McIntyre

Time Out
"...It is with Hayley Atwell's appearance as Io that the terrible tyranny of Zeus really hits home. The gods have turned the maiden into a cow and sent her a tormenting gadfly that has driven her to madness; Atwell, her hands bandaged into hoof-stumps and lowing in distress, creates a heart-rending picture of vulnerability to complement the superhuman suffering of Prometheus..."

The Times
"...Hayley Atwell impresses in her professional stage debut as Io, bringing an almost unbearable pathos to this cursed cow-woman creature, stung constantly by flies and driven from one side of the earth to the other by vengeful deities..."

Online Review London
"...Hayley Atwell as Force and later as the terrified Io brought to the latter a moving hysteria and a sense of being controlled by forces greater and more mysterious than she could control..."

Reviews Gate
"...Hayley Atwell’s quietly impressive Io..."

British Theatre Guide
"...Fourth principal is Hayley Atwell who plays the half-crazed Io, a mortal maiden fancied by Zeus, but now packed off into the wilderness by Zeus’s jealous wife Hera. Transmogrified into a heifer and pursued by the unrelenting stings of a gadfly, the actress makes us respond to the anguish without for a moment inviting a chuckle at her bandaged hands turned into useless cloven hoofs..."

The Stage
"...There are also fine supporting performances from Brian Poyser as Oceanus, urging Prometheus to temper his rage, Michael Dixon as the gods’ messenger Hermes threatening more severe punishment, and a parallel scene of anguish from Hayley Atwell as the crazed Io, half heifer, half woman, pursued by a gadfly..."

Pictures
Getty
Camden New Journal
ArenaPal