SAME director, same lead actress, but prepare for a very different production of Medea from Actors of Dionysus, who first toured Euripides's tale of vengeance in the autumn of 1996.

Starting with two performances next week at the College of Ripon and York St John, the York classical theatre company embarks on a two-month national tour of schools, colleges, theatres and arts centres with Tamsin Shasha once more playing the title role in David Stuttard's newly-revised adaptation of this sulphurous, chilling tale of a woman's love, obsession and revenge.

At present, it is dial M for Medea at every turn: Liz Lochhead's version for Theatre Babel toured York Theatre Royal last autumn; Deborah Warner's new London production opened last week at the Queen's Theatre; and Foursight Theatre Company, from Wolverhampton, joins the production line in March.

Pure coincidence, say Actors of Dionysus, who were motivated by a combination of Medea being on the school syllabus this year and by a desire to follow up last year's production of Bacchae with another play that explored the theme of vengeance within the family.

Stuttard is more keen to make comparisons with the 1996 production than the current crop of Medeas. "This time our exploration is rooted in the effect of obsession on Medea's mind. In the 1996 show, she was strong and resolved from the start. Now she has the mind of a woman who is in a very fragile state to begin with," he says.

"The tale of Medea is, above all else, a love story: a passion that is so great that Medea can't accept it being over. Love is addictive, and she can't let it go."

Medea's descent begins when she is rejected by her husband, Jason and exiled by the king, so she sets in motion a rollercoaster of revenge that ends in treachery, deception and death.

Stuttard's new production gives the ancient Greek drama of Medea a new setting: the end of the 19th century, with a colour scheme of storm clouds, institutional grey and repressive Victorian clothing. "In the way I've adapted the play, it seems to suggest that the sickness of Medea is polluting a world which has been relatively innocent, and that applies equally to late Victorian times, as to Euripides' day," David says.

Together with choreographer Thea Nerissa Barnes, formerly artistic director of Phoenix Theatre, David Stuttard has constructed a production built on order and disorder, control and chaos.

Lead actress Tamsin Shasha comments: "The staging this time is much more psychological, much less A to B; instead it takes a zig-zag route."

Rehearsals in York have been building to a peak of intensity. "It's doing our heads in, all this psychological stuff," jokes David.

Actors of Dionysus, Medea, Chapel Studio Theatre, College of Ripon and York St John, York, January 29 and 30 at 7.30pm, 75 minutes without an interval. Evening Press theatre critic Charles Hutchinson hosts a talk-back session after next Monday's performance. Tickets: £8, concessions £6; ring 01904 623568 (York Theatre Royal box office).