The moon, just passed full, is low slung and its light diffused through the tree-line on this droplet-thick Autumnal evening. Shop-signs and brake lights make hazy decor along my route into the city and The Orestreia, a 2,500 thousand year old greek tragedy, weighty stuff indeed! Ted Hughes’ two hour version of the trilogy is theatre for the devout surely? Well not quite. The marketing may be full of grainy bust-like portraits of the local actors cast to play the voice of the city-folk, but in reality the Chorus shuffle on stage pre-show in a comical array of outfits, from pink velour trackies to 1980’s jumpers.
The Male Chorus represents the voice of the elders of Argos searching for the right response to their situation. Their King, Agammemnon, has been absent on a questionable ten year campaign against Troy after Helen, Agammemnon’s brother’s wife, ran away with Paris. On the journey to Troy Agammemnon sacrificed his own daughter for a fair wind for his navy, estranging his wife Clytemnestra who subsequently embarked upon an affair with Agammemnon’s cousin and sworn enemy Aegisthus. Together they plot to overthrow Agammemnon and on his return Clytemnestra murders him. She defends her actions as just and necessary to avenge her daughter and Aegisthus defends his as vengeance for Agammemnon’s father’s heinous actions towards his own father but the Chorus are not satisfied with this moral code. Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, is cited as the person who must avenge his father’s murder.
A classicist by her own admission Blanche McIntyre’s vision was to highlight the relevance of the themes in The Orestreia to Manchester today; old moral codes of vengeance and violence versus the instituions of litigation and justice. However the play has a complicated back story which is not revealed in a linear way and, as most of the main actors/actresses have multiple sometimes gender swapping roles, the result is it’s sometimes difficult to fathom what is going on unless you have a fundamental understanding of the play and its themes before you attend. Personally I think it is also worthy of note that whilst there may be good reason why the same actor plays Electra and Agammemnon, this does not mean a balding brute of a man in a nightie is easy to take seriously!
Nevertheless there is much worth mentioning throughout the performance and not least the lack of austerity you might associate with the idea of a Greek tragedy. Instead there was a sense of irreverence in places and the odd moment of comedy, signalled early on by the likeable Daniel Millar as he reminds himself it’s his role to bring order to the early narrative as leader of the Male Chorus. Simon Trinder’s wide boy Aegisthus is just the right amount of repugnant and he manages to clearly define his roles, successfully conveying Orestes inner struggle to delineate his own actions as crime or punishment. Ronke Adekoluejo leads a powerful female chorus effortlessly and, whilst no specific mention is made of the Furies in the cast, their revulsion and rage as their natural moral code is superceded was riveting stuff and the highlight of the play for me.
This is a play designed to provoke discussion and involve the community quite literally on the stage. It is an interesting and well produced piece but not necessarily for the mass market.
