'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)
Performed at Belvoir's Upstairs Theatre 14 March - 26 April 2015.
Director: Anne-Louise Sarks.
Set Designer: Ralph Myers.
Costume Designer: Mel Page.
Composer & Sound Designer: Stefan Gregory.
Cast: Hunter Page-Lochard.
Presented by the Hive Collective and Metro Arts at Metro Arts, 3-13 March 2021.
Director: Heather Fairbairn.