Through ten years of war, grief and rage, Queen Clytemnestra lies in wait for her husband Agamemnon’s return, determined to avenge one child, only to doom the others. The sole surviving trilogy in Greek tragedy, The Oresteia chronicles a deluge of violence that can only be stopped when society peers into its own soul and sees the depths of its complicity. Playwright Ellen McLaughlin (The Persians) has written a new play based on the classic, commissioned by STC. Her work, three years in the making, weaves together the stories of Aeschylus with stunning poetry and emotional heft. An epic, world-premiere interpretation of this pillar of western culture, The Oresteia makes a fitting end to Michael Kahn’s tenure as Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
All titles, artists and dates subject to change.
Reviews
“★★★★★…breathtaking, deeply satisfying…this is Kahn in greatest communion with his art, his voice visceral and unwavering, and it is a profound note upon which to take his leave.” –Metro Weekly
“★★★★★…the language is stark and rich with the poetic alchemy of ancient Greek. The way McLaughlin’s words sound in your ears and are beautifully spoken by the actors is ambrosia.” –DC Theatre Scene
“HEART-STOPPING…Kahn’s production, marked by the dynamic portrayals of Rad Pereira as Electra, Josiah Bania as Orestes and particularly Kelley Curran as vengeance-obsessed Clytemnestra, preserves the spare, feral authority of the text even as it puts a modern sheen on the story’s outcome.” –The Washington Post
“POWERFUL…Michael Kahn’s final masterpiece as Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company.” –K Street Magazine
“A POWERFUL, EVOCATIVE update from playwright Ellen McLaughlin.” –Brightest Young Things
“EPIC…the acting is incredible across the board.” –The Georgetown Dish
“A TRIUMPH…a powerful interrogation of violence, revenge, blame, and justice told with great skill.” –Two Hours’ Traffic
“STUNNING…an emotional, sympathetic performance that rings with a relevance to our lives today.” –BroadwayWorld
“SHOCKINGLY RELEVANT…leaves audiences catching their breath.” –MD Theatre Guide
“★★★★★…The Oresteia is one of the singular best instances of ancient Greek drama brought flawlessly and effortless into a contemporary context without sacrificing the nature of its design.” –Theatre Bloom
“MESMERIZING…Kelley Curran is a commanding presence.” –Talkin’ Broadway
“The McLaughlin/Kahn collaboration DOES NOT DISAPPOINT.” –DC Metro Theater Arts
“VISUALLY STUNNING…it delivers messages about revenge and justice that ring as true today as they must have nearly 2,500 years ago.” –CurtainUp
Press & More:
THE ORESTEIA trailer
DCMTA: Not Your Typical Chorus Line
THE ORESTEIA Production Photos
The Georgetowner: Greek Chorus Stands Out
Asides: THE ORESTEIA
Q&A with Kelcey Watson
Washington Post: Five Things to Know About THE ORESTEIA
THE ORESTEIA Open Rehearsal
Interview with Composer Kamala Sankaram
DC Metro Theater Arts: Inside the STC Prop Shop
Prosecast: THE ORESTEIA
Q&A with Kelley Curran
Portraits of THE ORESTEIA Cast
Inside first rehearsal for THE ORESTEIA
THE ORESTEIA First Rehearsal
Inside THE ORESTEIA: Notes from the New York Workshop
Ellen McLaughlin’s THE ORESTEIA is a new take on an ancient classic
THE ORESTEIA teaser
View More
Details
The Oresteia
Apr 30, 2019 - Jun 2, 2019
The Oresteia is made possible by a generous grant from:
From the Playwright
Ellen McLaughlin
How do we respond to a volatile world, to the crises we find ourselves living through? How do we gain anything like perspective? One way is to look at these great plays, to see how the Greeks met their own times as artists. In doing so, we go back into these tall, well-lit rooms to reencounter these towering figures and listen hard.
The Oresteia are three of the oldest plays we have. They show us Aeschylus grappling with the experiment of civilization – considering, with clear eyes, its weaknesses and its hopes. The Greeks had no illusions about the fragility of society and of democracy. They knew all too well that the whole undertaking was always at risk, threatened by forces both without and within, as indeed it always is. This play is a long struggle to see whether civilization can in fact survive humanity, whether their grand experiment can withstand our basest nature, which is always working against our attempts to do right by the world and by each other. How do we address our times from within these ancient, ancient stories? We have to remember that these stories were as ancient to the Greeks as they are to us. They used these old stories to look at their own times and to assess their souls, the size of them, what they were capable of and what they were up against. I believe that’s what artists do, and if you’re lucky, you do it with an extraordinary company like this one. I am very grateful that STC is the cradle for this brand new/ancient play.
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From the Playwright
Ellen McLaughlin
How do we respond to a volatile world, to the crises we find ourselves living through? How do we gain anything like perspective? One way is to look at these great plays, to see how the Greeks met their own times as artists. In doing so, we go back into these tall, well-lit rooms to reencounter these towering figures and listen hard.
The Oresteia are three of the oldest plays we have. They show us Aeschylus grappling with the experiment of civilization – considering, with clear eyes, its weaknesses and its hopes. The Greeks had no illusions about the fragility of society and of democracy. They knew all too well that the whole undertaking was always at risk, threatened by forces both without and within, as indeed it always is. This play is a long struggle to see whether civilization can in fact survive humanity, whether their grand experiment can withstand our basest nature, which is always working against our attempts to do right by the world and by each other. How do we address our times from within these ancient, ancient stories? We have to remember that these stories were as ancient to the Greeks as they are to us. They used these old stories to look at their own times and to assess their souls, the size of them, what they were capable of and what they were up against. I believe that’s what artists do, and if you’re lucky, you do it with an extraordinary company like this one. I am very grateful that STC is the cradle for this brand new/ancient play. 
