Prometheus weaves in and out of the Greek myths: viewers of recent Netflix hit Kaos will know him as the lad that Zeus chained to a rock, condemned to have an eagle pluck out his liver. Every. Single. Day. But according to myth, he was also responsible for creating the human race out of clay in his own image, which is one of the main themes of this poem-play. If we’re all mirror-images of Prometheus, what about the women? How does a disabled trans man fit into the narrative? Or the straight white male, who wants to reject the toxic masculinity projected upon him? In other words, in a world of gods and monsters and men, what about everyone else?

Emmet Aster’s script is a thing of beauty: detailed and lyrical, it snakes through the book-laden space of the Circulating Library to provoke and comfort. The simplicity of spoken word performance has inspired the production, with a cast that take a regular fourth wall breaks to talk through their process and explain what’s coming next. As always, simplicity is to be commended but it’s hard to pull off, and Aster’s script is so dense and rich that we need some ‘proper acting’ to help the stunning imagery to land; the naturalistic delivery means that sometimes you’re struggling to catch the sense of a line as the next one applies. Still, it’s an interesting approach with thought-provoking questions that remain relevant today.  

Prometheus., The Courtyard Of Curiosities At The Migration Museum, until Sunday 2 March, 7.50pm.