Review: THE ORESTEIA, Bridge Theatre
Photo credit: Johan Persson
The Oresteia was originally written by Aeschylus in the 5th Century BC. Now, two millennia later, Simon Stone has adapted the only extant example of an Ancient Greek theatre trilogy into a contemporary family drama which explores the fine line between justice and revenge, and demonstrates the enduring nature of Ancient Greek theatre.
A key change from the original text is the renaming of the characters. Agamemnon becomes Christopher, a modern-day arms dealer instead of a Greek Army Commander. When Christopher returns from war to his wife Clytemnestra, now called Montie, with her lover Aegisthus/Jerome waiting in the wings, secrets and betrayal are poised to tear apart their family. Their children Electra, Orestes and Iphigenia, are modernised into Alice, Augie, and Isabel, but nothing can save them from the tragedy that befalls their family. These updates make this painfully relevant play more accessible, but its characters are equally damaged by the fallout of the war and the violence it causes as they were in ancient mythological times. But with the absence of the Greek Gods, in this version, the characters only have themselves to blame for their misfortune. The Oresteia is not all doom and gloom, and Stone has inserted just the right amount of dark comedy. We certainly did not expect to laugh so much at a play that has no shortage of murder and heartbreak, but at the centre of the action is a relatable chaotic family.
Set in the revolving Middleton mansion, which could be straight out of Architectural Digest, wonderfully designed by Lizzie Clachan, we are able to follow the characters from room to room and there are no traditional scene changes to disrupt the tension. Stark lighting by Nick Schlieper and unnerving sound design by Peter Rice emphasise that this is a family under a microscope who are sure to crack under the pressure and weight of generational trauma. Stone has chosen to tell his version of The Oresteia unchronologically, and projections helpfully signpost the dates to guide us through the chaos that ensues. The Trojan War is replaced by the Syrian Civil War showing that whatever the century, the pain and potency of an unjust war will sadly not diminish.
The cast is stellar and pour their hearts out on the stage of the Bridge Theatre; this must be a truly exhausting play to perform. Key to the success of the family dynamic is the delivery of dialogue, in the first act especially a cacophony of interruptions and spiky insults. At the head of the family is David Morrissey as Christopher, stern but wavering as a man crushed by the weight of his actions. Tom Glynn-Carney as his son Augie is haunting as a man driven mad by revenge. In an incredibly strong cast, the two female leads Montie and Alice, played by Mary-Louise Parker and Rosie Sheehy, are standouts. Montie is quick witted, cruel, and calculated in contrast to Sheehy’s Alice who is comical, posh, and in search of human connection. In a departure from the original text in a cast of morally grey and black people, Stone has chosen to replace Alice’s vengeance with innocence.
With a running time of just over three and a half hours, this is a behemoth of a play but with two intervals and a decade of drama, the time flies by. We urge you to not to be intimated by the length and instead, embrace that we are able to witness the sensational cast and creative team’s skills for a prolonged period. The Oresteia will have you on the edge of your seat, especially at the height of the conflict in the second act. The third act does start to run away with itself and for such a long play, it feels bizarre to say that the final moments feels a bit rushed but Simon Stone’s sharp direction will leave you not knowing where to look as the tragedy of the House of Middleton, renamed from Atreus, unfolds.
The Oresteia is one of the theatre’s great foundational texts and Simon Stone’s remarkable reimagining shows us that this will certainly not be the last we see of this electrifying and gripping tragedy.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Sophie Luck
The Oresteia plays at London’s Bridge Theatre until 19 September, with tickets available here.