Introductory Text

Electra: An Ancient Greek Tragedy Recreated with Greek and Chinese Touches

Electra, co-produced by the creative teams of Greek director Michail Marmarinos and Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, adopts a new approach to recreate the classic tragedy by Greek playwright Sophocles some 2,500 years ago. Taken from Greek mythology, Electra relates the story of the eponymous heroine who grooms her younger brother Orestes to avenge the death of their father, Agamemnon, murdered by his wife and her lover, Aegisthus, but sees Orestes killed upon reaching adulthood and has to take revenge herself against all odds. This unique story of matricide is so legendary that in addition to Sophocles, it was also portrayed by the other two ancient Greek tragedians, Aeschylus and Euripides, which suggests it was very well known at that time.

 

By Yang Xiaoluan
Theatre promoter, critic, veteran performer, and founder of self-media Theatre Go Round

This article is excerpted and translated from Chinese