Philly Fringe 2025: Jessica Fudim presents Venomous: a mythical dance for a modern world

The piece was part dance and part theater. Fudim first danced the part of Medusa in a grey gathered skirt and black tunic, with an over-vest of gold and a fanny pack. Then she swept the floor with a besom broom and handed out sprigs of flowers to the audience before bowing down to the last sprig, in an imaginary temple of Athena.

Fudim created the costumes, and she changed them onstage to cue the audience. In pants and a denim jacket she took up a microphone, and with paper cutouts projected on a screen as illustration, she told Ovid’s version of Medusa’s tale. While she is at the temple of Athena (working, or possibly at worship, or just in out of the rain, Fudim says), Poseidon rapes her (or maybe they have consensual sex, but probably not). Athena, enraged by the desecration of her temple, sends Poseidon away with no consequences, as usual. But she curses Medusa: her hair becomes a head of snakes, and anyone who looks at her is turned to stone. Ultimately, Perseus cuts off her head, and from her blood, her two children, Pegasus and Chrysaor (a winged boar) are born.

As Fudim reimagines the story, Athena invites Medusa to a glittery party with the sound of the crowd and the clink of bottles in the background. Fudim, in a sparkly short dress, danced Medusa’s freedom and joy, until the scene turned green and ominous—as if she has been roofied. Kudos to lighting designer Allen Willner: between the lighting and the suddenly ominous music, we could almost feel Medusa’s drugged disorientation. As a single mother she nurtured her toy children until, in floor work, Fudim acts out Medusa’s murder.

That is where the story usually ends. But Fudim, as Medusa, asks “Why didn’t you help me? I loved you!” What if Athena did protect Medusa? In a glittery jacket and black pants, Fudim’s whole demeanor changed. Her party dance exploded with aggressive energy: Not Medusa, but Athena, flexing her muscles and commanding the floor like the goddess she was, while the soundtrack blasted girl anthems.

I liked Fudim’s contemporary dance at the beginning of the piece. And a waltz with the upturned broom, decorated with a purple scrunchy to represent Athena, was beautifully performed with such wistful disappointment it tore our hearts (a bit of floorwork made it clear her love was more than platonic). But the power dancing was the best resolution we could ask for, fabulously empowering and overwhelmingly sad at the same time.