A Dream of Passion

Maya returns to Athens and steps into the stage production of Euripides' Medea. Early rehearsals establish the emotional stakes and the demands of the title role. The cast and crew begin probing the character, while Maya and the director start to test different readings.

The production director and Maya argue over how Medea should be portrayed, setting up a philosophical rift about motive and agency. The disagreement hints at Maya's willingness to challenge convention, foreshadowing her evolving performance. The rest of the crew watches as tensions rise.

A BBC contact arranges a publicity stunt pairing Maya with Brenda Collins, the imprisoned mother once dubbed 'the Medea of Glyfada.' The plan is to generate dramatic headlines, and Maya imagines the potential media reaction with mounting anticipation. The stunt becomes a spark that will push the story into unpredictable territory.

During the public interview, Brenda is initially happy but becomes frightened and enraged as photographers flood the room. The chaos triggers curses, and a nun pulls Brenda away, leaving Maya stunned and horrified by the stunt's outcome. Maya immediately sends flowers and a note of apology.

Brenda agrees to meet Maya again, and a tentative friendship starts to form beneath the surface of their very different lives. Maya's empathy grows as she witnesses Brenda's vulnerability and bitterness. The two women increasingly influence one another's understanding of Medea.

Maya consults the Kathimerini publisher and uncovers archival material: crime-scene photos, the note Brenda left for Roy, and psychologist notes. The records offer Brenda's perspective and the public's memory of the case, shaping Maya's understanding of truth and interpretation. Maya begins to see how media narratives shaped the 'Medea' label.

Maya visits the Collins' unoccupied Glyfada house, where chalk outlines still mark the floors, a haunting reminder of the murders. The visit intensifies Maya's psychological engagement with Brenda's past and its echoes in her Medea study. The house becomes a physical symbol of memory and guilt.

Maya meets Brenda several more times at the prison, where Brenda speaks with a mix of anguish, fury, and biblical quotes. She describes the events leading to the murders and her broken marriage, and insists she did not kill with Medea in mind. These talks challenge Maya's earlier picture of Brenda and Medea.

Brenda emphasizes her deep religious faith, begging her husband to stop his affair, and paints a portrait of marriage under strain. She explains that the 'Medea' label came from press headlines, not from her intent. Her testimony complicates Maya's assumption about the link between myth and motive.

As Maya researches Brenda's life and revisits her own, she questions her earlier approach to Medea and considers new dimensions of power, vulnerability, and self-ownership. She confronts issues with her own husband and her friendship with Maria, the prompter, reshaping how she will perform the role. The exploration blurs lines between art and life.

Scenes from the middle of the play are rehearsed, mirroring Maya's transformation as she diverges from her initial interpretation. The crew notices her growing intimacy with Brenda's perspective, and the audience senses a new ethical complexity in Medea's portrayal. The narrative threads of Brenda's case and Maya's life intersect more overtly.

The film culminates with the play's final scenes staged at the ancient theater near the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. Maya delivers a final interpretation of Medea shaped by Brenda's story and her own life experiences. The audience witnesses a reconciliation of art and moral ambiguity as the curtain falls.