The play was directed by Deborah Warner, with sets by Tom Pye, costumes by Ann Roth, lighting by Jennifer Tipton and original music and sound design by Mel Mercier.
This reinterpretation was adapted and directed by Michael Rader and the cast included Lynn Cohen, Adriane Lenox, Jill Paice, Elizabeth Kemp and Thursday Farrar.
[7] In November that same year, another production of the play was staged for a limited run at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, starring acting veteran Pamela Rabe and directed by Anne-Louise Sarks.
It is neither anti-Mary nor anti-Christianity, but rather a portrait of a very human woman – a mother – who is trying to make sense of and come to terms with the tragic death of her son.... let the work speak for itself.
Director Garry Hynes keeps the staging to an austere minimum: in a barely furnished room, the shifting light and overhead projection of cloud formations are the only accompaniments to Marie Mullen's occasionally tentative delivery.
And yet, it seems fitting to sit in a communal space and remember all the other congregations down the centuries who have worshipped a mother, who, in this interpretation, is herself in need of the succour of a female deity: the virgin goddess, Artemis.
"[11] On the other hand, a review in Backstage commented, "the stage is littered with a mix of properly historical and more-contemporary items, and Mary is seen smoking what appear to be joints of marijuana and swigging from a commercially labeled liquor bottle.
If Fiona Shaw had received a nod from the Tony, for instance, the show might have been saved; but not enough out-of-towners will book a ticket on the basis of superlative designs.