Electra

Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre

13, 14/5 │ Saturday, Sunday │ 20:00
Grand Auditorium, Macao Cultural Centre
Tickets: MOP 300, 220, 120 

A contemporary theatrical production by Chinese and Greek creative minds

Electra is a classic play about vengeance and justice written by Sophocles, one of the three great ancient Greek tragedians. This play, a new interpretation by renowned Greek theatre director Michail Marmarinos together with creative teams from Greece and China, has been recognised with awards since its debut in 2018. This production is directed by revival director Huang Fangling and presented in collaboration with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre.

The chorus plays a critical role in ancient Greek tragedies, without which the tragedies would arguably be unable to take shape. Composer Dimitris Kamarotos has therefore invited specialists to reproduce the ancient Greek double aulos, a musical instrument which dates back over 2,000 years, to crossover with the sheng, a time-honoured Chinese free reed wind instrument. The text is translated by Luo Tong, who is the third generation of her family to work as a translator and researcher of ancient Greek literature and theatre. This first-class production is definitely not to be missed.


Translator: Luo Tong
Director: Michail Marmarinos
Composer: Dimitris Kamarotos
Revival Director: Huang Fangling
Leading Actress: Fan Yilin


Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one interval
Performed in Mandarin, with surtitles in Chinese and English 
Restricted to audiences aged 13 or above

Introductory Text

Electra, co-produced by the creative teams of Greek director Michail Marmarinos and the 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 was so popular that besides Sophocles, it was also portrayed by two other great 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

Outreach Programme

FAM MEET:  Talk: Approaching Ancient Greek Theatre

FAM PLUS:  Charity Sessions

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