The World Premiere of Ellen McLaughlin's Oresteia
Since 1986, American theatre icon Micheal Kahn has championed groundbreaking work as the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Over three decades later, Kahn brings his tenure to a close with a dynamic new staging of Aeschylus' Oresteia, the enduring Greek tragedy that remains the only trilogy of its type in existence. Freshly commissioned by the STC, the production sees American playwright and foremost Greek drama interpreter Ellen McLaughlin breathe new life into a classic with poetry and emotional depth.
The world premiere work follows the fall of the house of Atreides, namely the resolution of an ancient curse that was caused by a blood-feud between Tantalus and the gods. Descendent Agamemnon, a Greek ruler, returns home after waging the Trojan war for 10 years, yet he is not welcomed with open arms by his wife Clytemnestra, who is still reeling because her husband sacrificed their youngest daughter to the gods in order win the war. Blood begets blood, and a series of brutal murders blur the line between divine and human retribution.
