Cirrus@Austlit

'The story of the House of Atreus is one of the greatest cycles ever conceived by humankind – a diabolical sequence of brilliant dramatic premises. At its heart is an unstoppable chain reaction as each generation, one after the other, tries to solve the problems their parents made worse by trying to solve the problems their parents made worse…

'It is hard to say when it all began. For Clytemnestra the cause was this: her husband Agamemnon’s sacrifice of their daughter at the outset of a great war a decade ago. For Elektra and Orestes the cause was this: Clytemnestra’s vengeful slaughter of their father Agamemnon at the victorious close of this same great war. Now Orestes is in exile and Elektra, Hamlet-like, stalks her mother’s palace looking for a way to achieve some semblance of justice.

'Anne-Louise Sarks (Nora, Medea) has forged a remarkable series of shows by combining the full force of old tales with the uncanny familiarity of modern life. Here she teams with playwright Jada Alberts (Brothers Wreck) to create twin shows in a single night. One whole turn of the bloody cycle of love, justice and revenge.

'Hunter Page-Lochard (Brothers Wreck) is the perfect contemporary Orestes, supported by a cast that will truly resemble the world we live in.

'This brilliant epic is proof that everything old is new again.' (Production summary)

'Award-winning playwright Sean Riley's latest play for emerging adults is a modern retelling of The Oresteia – the epic trilogy from the classical Greek theatre canon  that charts the destruction of literature’s most dysfunctional family; Agamemnon and his wife Clytemnestra, and their children Electra and Orestes. 

'Set somewhere in suburban Adelaide, a family rips itself apart in the time-honoured tradition of Greek tragedy.

'In its classically staged form, The Oresteia runs a staggering five and a half hours, but  This Bloody House is an adrenalin-fuelled eighty minutes, reimagined and relocated in the dark underbelly of contemporary society.    In a world of violence, drugs, guns, and biker gang warfare, this family are now the most dangerous of criminal dynasties.  Brutal, retributive, and unforgiving, the plays are awash with familial rivalries, jealousies and revenge.'

Source: Bakehouse Theatre.

'Oozing with heart but stricken with the politics of familial duty and responsibility, Chorus is about the unending pressures on women to conform to certain roles -- and the potentially tragic results when they break that mould: when they want too much. When they go a step too far.'

Source: Red Line Productions.