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Electra
Teaching Resources
CONTENTS
The Ancient Greeks
3
Sophocles
4
Timeline of Greek Theatre and Sophocles
5
Electra at The Old Vic
6
Electra Synopsis
8
Electra Character Breakdown
9
Electra’s Family Tree
10
Electra Themes
11
Greek Stages
13
Creating a Chorus: Practical Exercises
15
In conversation with...
Ian Rickson, Director
Mark Thompson, Designer
Julia Dearden, Golda Rosheuvel
and Thalissa Teixeira, chorus
16
17
18
Bibliography
19
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
Old Vic New Voices Education
The Old Vic
The Cut
London SE1 8NB
E [email protected]
W oldvicnewvoices.com
@oldvicnewvoices
© The Old Vic, 2014. All information
is correct at the time of going to
press, but may be subject to change
Electra
By Sophocles
In a version by Frank McGuinness
Directed by Ian Rickson
Teaching Resources
Compiled by Roxanne Peak-Payne
Design Peter Collins
Cover image Katerina Jebb
Rehearsal photography
Johan Persson
Old Vic New Voices
Director Alexander Ferris
Education & Community Manager
Hannah Fosker
Intern Mirain Jones
Talent Officer Laura Humphrey
Further details of this production
oldvictheatre.com
2
THE ANCIENT GREEKS
In Ancient Greece theatre was an essential
and significant part of everyday life,
influencing politics, religion and society.
The traditions of Greek theatre started in
the form of festivals organised to honour
the gods. The god of wine and fertility,
Dionysus, was celebrated with a festival
where men would perform songs and
dances to welcome him. These became
more and more formalised, and finally
developed into plays with a chorus who
danced and sang.
to mock people and situations, usually
ending in a final scene of choral dancing
and revelry.
On stage there would be a chorus of
12–15 men and between one and three
actors, depending on which period the
play was written in. Actors would usually
play several characters, and the chorus
would represent the general population
of the play’s location. Actors would
wear costumes and masks to help depict
different characters. Although no masks
have survived as they were made of linen
or cork, records suggest that tragic masks
carried mournful or pained expressions,
while comic masks were smiling or leering.
should take place over no more than one
day. For Aristotle, the Unity of Action was
the most important because it focuses
the audience on the key issue of the play
without diverting to distracting subplots.
The unities remained influential in dramatic
criticism for many years until the middle
of the 19th Century, when their
importance lessened.
The majority of plays that have survived
are copies, which were made for teachers
and scholars to study several centuries
The festivals known as City Dionysia or
after the originals were written. However,
Great Dionysia were huge spectacles, and
what remains today is a fraction of the
over time amphitheatres were built on a
work that was created for Greek theatres.
massive scale to accommodate thousands
For example, only 19 out of 90 plays by
of people. The performances were shown
Euripides, and only seven of Sophocles’
as part of an annual competition between All the performers and writers were men,
123 plays have survived. Conflicts and
the three greatest playwrights. Three days as women were not able to become
disasters have meant that many plays were
were dedicated to the performance of
‘citizens’. In Ancient Greece, being a citizen destroyed en masse, meaning the names
tragedies, and later, comedies were also
gave you political and social rights such
of writers such as Thespis, Agathon and
allowed to compete, although they were
as voting and owning land, but women,
Philokles are all that survive of their work.
of a lesser importance. The festivals were
slaves and foreigners were not given
the most important events in the calendar citizenship. Given the marginal status of
Theatre was a powerful tool in Ancient
and were as much a social and religious
women in the theatre and in wider society, Greece, used to promote cultural identity
gathering as a theatre celebration.
it is interesting to consider how many plays amongst its citizens and colonies, and
depend on the action of female characters. explore moral issues and philosophical
The two main genres of theatre in Ancient
ideas. The influence of Greek theatre
Greece were tragedy and comedy. Tragedy Aristotle wrote extensively about plays and can still be felt today and has clearly had
is the oldest of the genres, and was the
their structure, and felt there were three
a profound effect on many aspects of
most revered form. The stage action of
basic ‘unities’ from which classic drama
Western culture. In terms of the drama
tragedies tends to focus on the relationship was written. The Unity of Action – a play
specifically, it could easily be argued that
between the hero’s intention, action and
should have one main narrative, with no
Western theatre as we know it originated in
consequence, typically setting him against or few subplots. The Unity of Place – the
Athens 2,500 years ago.
his unavoidable destiny, his family, his
play should only be in one location, and
society and himself. Comedies were used
the stage should only represent this place.
to criticise immorality and corruption, and The Unity of Time – the action of the play
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
3
SOPHOCLES (c 496–406 BCE)
Sophocles is credited with several major
and minor dramatic innovations, and
through these he gave theatre in Ancient
Greece a shape and structure that is
recognisable to theatre makers today. He
primarily wrote tragedies and won his first
victory, against Aeschylus, in 468 BCE. He
was victorious 24 times in his career and
never finished lower than second in the
City Dionysia dramatic competition. Of
the 120 plays attributed to Sophocles only
seven survive – Ajax, Trachiniae, Antigone,
Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and
Oedipus at Colonus. Fragments of his satyr
play The Trackers also survive.
Sophocles was responsible for introducing
a third actor into dramatic performance,
an innovation rapidly copied by other
playwrights, including Aeschylus and
Euripides. Aeschylus’ addition of a second
actor allowed for dialogue and for actors to
‘double’ and play multiple roles, although
the interactions of characters were still
very restricted. The addition of a third actor
onstage enabled writers to considerably
increase the total number of characters in
the play and to depict a larger variety of
dramatic situations.
This advancement was more significant
than merely improving the construction
of scenes or the scope of characters.
The essence of any three-actor scene is
that the outcome of events will depend
on whether A will side with B or C, or
whether the combined efforts of B and C
will change A’s mind. Sophocles allowed a
choice to be made within a scene, and this
choice was decided by the nature of the
person making it as well as the situation.
Two-actor scenes were able to depict the
will of the gods, with one character going
head to head with a predestined fate; much
more a narrative than a drama. Sophocles’
additional actor meant that his characters
could be seen as three dimensional,
conflicted beings, who spoke and acted as
their personalities dictated, choosing their
own paths to success, failure or extinction.
Sophocles is also credited with
enlarging the size of the chorus from
12 to 15 men, and creating a form of
scenery or other visual aid to establish
location or atmosphere. This was painted
on the ‘skene’, in which the actors
changed costumes.
Sophocles played an important part in
the civic life of Athens as well as in the
theatre. He was treasurer for the Athenian
imperial league, and served as one of
ten generals who led a campaign against
Samos, an island threatening to break away
from the Athenian alliance. In 411 BCE
he was appointed to a committee called
to examine Athens’ disastrous military
campaign in Sicily.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
4
TIMELINE OF GREEK
THEATRE & SOPHOCLES
The dates of many events in Greek theatre have been lost, for example when Electra was written and performed,
meaning what we are left with is a patchwork of information.
7th Century BCE
c 625 Arion, a poet, is credited
with inventing dithyrambic
choruses. A dithyramb is a song
or hymn performed by a chorus of
up to 50 men or boys.
6th Century BCE
600–570 Cleisthenes, tyrant
ruler of Sicyon, shifts the focus of
dithyrambic performances from
heroes to the god Dionysus.
540–52 Pisistratus, tyrant ruler
of Athens, establishes the City
Dionysia, the annual springtime
dramatic festival.
536–533 Thespis puts on tragedy
at the City Dionysia in Athens.
Thespis is known as the first actor
of tragedy and, as such, actors are
often called ‘thespians’.
525 Aeschylus is born.
511–508 Phrynichus’ first victory
in tragedy. Phrynichus was a pupil
of Thespis, and was the first to
introduce an actor separate from
the chorus, allowing for theatrical
dialogue. Phrynichus is also
credited with introducing female
characters, who were played by
men in masks.
c 500 Pratinus introduces the
‘satyr’ play, a form of tragicomedy
that was based on Greek
mythology, and was bawdy
and brazen.
5th Century BCE
499–496 Aeschylus’ first
dramatic competition.
c 496 Sophocles is born.
485 Euripides is born.
484
Aeschylus’ first dramatic victory.
Aeschylus added a second actor
to his plays, enabling him to
show intrigue and conflict. He
also reduced the chorus in size,
lessening its importance in favour
of dramatic dialogue.
c 450 Aristophanes born, the first c 429 Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.
great writer of satirical comedy.
406 Sophocles dies; Euripides dies.
468 Sophocles defeats Aeschylus 447 Building of the Parthenon
in the City Dionysia competition, begins in Athens, a temple for the 404 Athens loses Peloponnesian
War to Sparta.
goddess Athena.
aged approximately 28 years.
470 Thought to be Sophocles’
first competition.
According to Plutarch, the victory
comes in unusual circumstances,
as it is decided by military leaders
rather than the judges.
c 445 Sophocles’ Ajax.
441 Sophocles’ Antigone.
456 Aeschylus dies.
431–404 Peloponnesian War
(Athens and allies vs Sparta
and allies).
c 380s Plato’s Republic
includes critique of Greek
tragedy and comedy.
c 330s Aristotle’s Poetics
includes defence of Greek
tragedy and comedy. 401 Sophocles’ Oedipus at
Colonus produced posthumously
by his grandson (also called
Sophocles).
4th Century BCE
399 Trial and death of Socrates,
condemned for corrupting youth.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
c 340–300 BCE The huge
amphitheatre at Epidaurus is built.
5
ELECTRA
AT THE OLD VIC
Kristin Scott Thomas
Electra
Tyrone Huggins
Aegisthus
Jack Lowden
Orestes
Diana Quick
Clytemnestra
Liz White
Chrysothemis
Peter Wight
Servant
Julia Dearden
Chorus
Golda Rosheuvel
Chorus
Thalissa Teixeira
Chorus
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
6
Jenny Bolt
U/S Clytemnestra
& Chorus
Katy Brittain
U/S Electra
Matthew Darcy
U/S Orestes
Cait Davis
U/S Chrysothemis
& Chorus
Colin Haigh
U/S Aegisthus
& Servant
Asha Reid
U/S Chorus
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
7
SYNOPSIS
Kristin Scott Thomas
Before starting with the plot of the play, it is useful to know
the events that have happened before the action begins.
Electra is part of a much larger story taken from Greek
mythology, and characters that appear in the play can be
found in many other plays and stories by other writers.
Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae, and his brother Menelaus
go to the Trojan War to retrieve Menelaus’ wife Helen.
Agamemnon sacrifices his eldest daughter, Iphigenia, to
appease a goddess who will not allow his army to sail. He
returns from the war with his concubine Cassandra, but they
are both murdered on their arrival by his wife Clytemnestra
and her lover Aegisthus, in revenge for sacrificing Iphigenia.
Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra,
smuggles her younger brother Orestes out of Mycenae to
Phocia, in the hope that he can grow up in safety and return
one day to avenge their father and claim the throne.
The Servant and Orestes are looking at Mycenae. The Servant
describes how he smuggled Orestes out of the city as a child
when his father Agamemnon was murdered, and that they
have returned to avenge his death. The Servant urges
Orestes to take action.
Orestes describes how he asked for guidance from the oracle
at Delphi, and was advised how to take revenge for his father
by the god Apollo. Orestes and the Servant discuss their plan to
pretend Orestes is dead, and exit.
Electra mourns her father and prays that her brother will soon
return to take revenge. She describes how she is treated in the
palace. The chorus comforts and reassures her.
Chrysothemis scolds her sister Electra for continuing to mourn.
She tells Electra that if she carries on grieving she will be locked
up in a dungeon by her mother Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
Electra doesn’t understand why Chrysothemis doesn’t defend
their father, and they argue about family honour. Chrysothemis
tells Electra about a foreboding dream their mother had and
then leaves.
Clytemnestra enters. She questions Electra’s sense of justice,
and asks why she should be condemned when her actions were
to avenge the sacrifice of her daughter. Electra argues that her
sister Iphigenia’s death was sad but necessary, and accuses
Clytemnestra of taking the law into her own hands.
The Servant arrives and tells the women that Orestes is dead.
Electra is distraught, but Clytemnestra is relieved and invites
the Servant into the palace.
Electra and the Chorus are mourning Orestes when
Chrysothemis arrives to tell her she is certain Orestes is in
Mycenae. Electra doesn’t believe her and tries to convince her
that they should kill their mother themselves. Chysothemis
refuses to agree and leaves.
Orestes enters but doesn’t recognise Electra. As she grieves for
his death, he realises he is with his sister and reveals himself to
her. They celebrate as the Servant returns from the palace, and
then quickly plan Clytemnestra’s murder.
Orestes and the Servant enter the palace while Electra stands
guard outside and encourages them. Clytemnestra’s cries can
be heard as she is murdered, and Orestes reappears to confirm
that she is dead.
Aegisthus arrives having heard that Orestes is dead. He
is pleased and asks to see the corpse. Orestes presents
Clytemnestra’s body covered in a cloth, and encourages
Aegisthus to look. Aegisthus quickly realises what has
happened, and realises he is about to be murdered.
Orestes takes him into the house to finish the deed.
The Chorus conclude the play, saying that the suffering is over.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
8
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Diana Quick
Liz White
Tyrone Huggins
Electra
The eldest surviving daughter of
Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. She
spends her time mourning her father’s
murder, condemning her mother and
waiting for her brother Orestes to return
and avenge his death. She is essentially
held prisoner in the palace and is not
allowed to visit her father’s grave. She is
entirely committed to ensuring justice is
done to avenge her father.
Clytemnestra
The Queen of Mycenae. She murdered her
husband Agamemnon when he returned
from war to avenge the death of their
daughter Iphigenia, who Agamemnon
sacrificed to a god while he was away.
She now reigns alongside Aegisthus, her
lover, although she doesn’t feel secure in
her position. She feels threatened by her
daughter Electra, and as such treats her
very badly.
Aegisthus
Clytemnestra’s lover and was
also responsible for the murder of
Agamemnon. Like Clytemnestra, he is
uneasy about their current situation and
wants to eliminate any threats. He is
cruel to Electra and celebrates Orestes’
supposed death.
Orestes
The son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon.
Following his father’s murder Electra
arranged for him to be smuggled away to
Phocia to keep him safe as he was a young
boy at the time. Seven years have passed
and he has returned to avenge his father,
accompanied by his tutor, the Servant.
Chrysothemis
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra
and Agamemnon. Although she recognises
her mother’s wrongdoing, she refuses to
condemn her in the way her sister Electra
does. She isn’t driven by justice like her
sister, instead believing she will gain the
greatest benefits by siding with those in
control.
The Servant
Smuggled Orestes out of Mycenae after
Agamemnon was murdered. While they
were in Phocia he was Orestes’ tutor and
guardian. He serves as a voice of wisdom
and practicality, and also galvanizes
Orestes into taking action.
The Chorus
Made up of the women of the palace. They
are fully in support of Electra and are there
to guide and assist her.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
9
ELECTRA’S FAMILY TREE
Atreus
Helen
(of Troy)
Menelaus
(King of Sparta)
Iphigenia
Aerope
Agamemnon
(King of Mycene)
Electra
Clytemnestra
Aegisthus
Chrysothemis Orestes
Female
Male
Dead at start of play
Married
Marriage ended
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
10
THEMES
Duty vs free will
Electra explores what happens when
different forms of duty come into conflict.
In the play we see duty to family, to the
gods, to the state, to the dead and to the
self. Which duty should take precedence,
and do individuals have any choice over
the matter? In much Greek mythology
the gods play a significant role in deciding
the fate of individuals. In the play, young
Orestes seems to be commanded by Apollo
and familial duty to murder his mother.
Does this clear him of responsibility for
his crime? Could he disobey if he wanted,
despite the history of murder and betrayal
that have tormented his family for
generations? The sisters Chrysothemis and
Electra have a very different reaction to the
duty they owe their murdered father – does
this suggest there is some choice in how
they interpret their familial duty?
Conversation starter
Electra says to Orestes when
they meet, “fate has guided
you”. Look at Orestes’s retelling
of Apollo’s message at the
start of the play. Is there room
for ambiguity or a different
interpretation?
Family
Electra’s family seems to be cursed, given
that they have been plagued by murder
and betrayal for several generations –
Agamemnon’s parents also experienced
terrible familial conflicts. Electra explores
the limits of conflicting family loyalty,
with different family relationships
outdoing others. For example, Electra
tells Clytemnestra that she could never
be justified in murdering her husband,
because of her duty as a wife, but that
Agamemnon’s sacrifice of their daughter
Iphigenia was an unfortunate necessity.
On the other hand, Clytemnestra felt she
was duty-bound to revenge her daughter.
Many of the characters also talk about
‘blood’ in reference to their bloodline or
family tree, and Electra refers several times
to Agamemnon as an oak cut down by
Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. The Greeks
felt that to kill your own family member
was not just a crime in itself, but a crime
against the bloodline as it stopped the
continuance of the family name.
Conversation starter
Consider the different kinds of
relationships and betrayals that
exist within the family. Do any
take precedence over others?
Is murdering a family member
worse than murder in general?
Jack Lowden & Kristin Scott Thomas
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
11
Gender
Throughout the play we are confronted
with different expectations of men and
women. Gender is significant from the
start as Sophocles chose to name his play
after Electra, whereas the writer Aeschylus
called his version of the story The Orestia
after her brother Orestes. Electra seems to
be the driving force for the revenge, but
despite being the eldest of the siblings, she
waits for years for her younger brother to
grow up so he can avenge their father. Only
when Electra thinks Orestes is dead does
she consider the murder herself and even
then her sister Chrysothemis suggests
that, as a woman, Electra cannot consider
killing Aegisthus. At this time women were
not allowed to perform in the theatre,
and were also not recognised as citizens
of the state. But, like her mother before
her, Electra refuses to behave in the way
society expects a woman to behave.
Conversation starter
Discuss why a man should be
allowed to do something that a
woman is not allowed to do in
the play. Have our expectations
of different genders changed
since the play was written?
Justice and revenge
Conversation starter
It is often the case in tragedies
that a character can find
themselves caught between
two ‘wrong’ options according
to different notions of justice.
Is there a ‘right road’ that any
of the characters could, or
should, have taken?
Images in the rehearsal room
The narrative of Electra follows the “an
eye for an eye” justice code. The problem
with this approach, however, is that it is
a never-ending chain. Someone murders
and another murders to avenge the
dead, so then the new murderer must be
murdered for vengeance, and so on. Many
characters, Clytemnestra, Orestes, and
Electra among them, claim that they are
acting in the interests of justice.
With no trial and no divine intervention,
who has the right to judge whether these
actions are morally right? Sophocles is
concerned with morality as a topic of
debate, but seems to have made the
play intentionally morally ambiguous,
leaving the final question of justice with
his audience. Who is right? Is it just to take
revenge? Is there a better alternative?
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
12
GREEK STAGES
Greek amphitheatres were originally
temporary structures built out of wood and
were always outdoors. As the popularity
of the performances increased, these
were more and more often built in stone
and became larger and larger. One of
the most famous amphitheatres, which
can still be seen today, is at Epidaurus in
southern Greece, which holds up to 14,000
people. Many theatres were built against
a stunning backdrop of natural beauty,
which was intended to intensify the sense
of awe of the gods that was interwoven
throughout performances.
The image below shows the layout and key
features of a Greek amphitheatre, based on
the theatre at Epidaurus.
Image: Thomas G Hines, Department of Theatre, Whitman College
The format of the stage can have a
significant impact on how an audience
experiences a play. Throughout theatre
history many different kinds of stage
layouts have been used, each with their
own advantages and limitations. When
Electra was originally performed it would
have been seen in an amphitheatre, the
kind of staging we most strongly associate
with Greek theatre.
A Orchestra Rounded area where the chorus performed.
B Altar Middle of orchestra, religious significance.
C Skene Background building behind the action.
D Theatron Audience seating area.
E Parodos Side entrance used by the chorus.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
13
Greek theatres were designed so that all
members of the audience would have a
good view of the stage, and so that sound
would travel well to the hundreds or
thousands of people watching. Many writers
performed in their plays as actors, although
Sophocles decided not to due to having
a weak voice, which suggests volume
and projection were very important for
audiences to hear. Costumes and masks had
exaggerated features so that anyone sat
further away could identify the characters
and follow the story easily.
Although this recent history might lead
you to think that theatre-in-the-round
is a modern invention, its roots are
actually in the ritualistic singing and
dancing performed by the Ancient Greeks
before it evolved into classical Greek
theatre as described above. The round
‘orchestra’, which was part of the ancient
amphitheatre stage, was where the chorus
performed. This is the legacy of the
earlier choral performances which were
performed by large groups in a circle in the
town marketplace or public square.
Some of the first buildings used for theatre
in the UK were introduced by the Romans,
based on the model of the Greek theatre.
Similarities can be seen with open-air
Elizabethan theatres such as the Globe,
which were created hundreds of years later.
One of the key features of theatre-inthe-round is that it removes the ‘fourth
wall’ and brings the audience into the
same space as the performers. It has been
suggested that this change in dynamic
forces the audience to become active
rather than passive spectators, as they
might be in an end-on or proscenium
theatre. There is usually less set in this
kind of theatre as the audience become
the backdrop for each other, and any large
piece of furniture or scenery is likely to
obscure the view.
For the production of Electra at The
Old Vic, the theatre, which is usually a
proscenium arch, has been transformed
into a theatre-in-the-round. In the
UK this kind of theatre became
increasingly popular in the 1960s,
and was often used by experimental
groups and small studio theatres who
wanted to the reject traditional forms
of theatre. It has continued to be used
as a creative alternative to the more
common proscenium format, with the
creation of large-scale in-the-round
theatres such as the Royal Exchange
in Manchester.
For more information on working in the
round, see the interviews with the Electra
designer and director.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
14
CREATING A CHORUS
Choruses played a particular role in Greek drama, and the principles of choral speak and movement
can be adapted to create very striking pieces of modern theatre.
Connected movement
Connected vocals
Creating a choral scene
Ask students to walk around the room at a
brisk pace, filling the whole space without
collisions. Without anyone giving any
signals or taking the lead, find a shared
impulse to stop. Encourage students to
make it a clean stop, rather than gradually
slowing or stumbling. When fully still, wait
for a shared moment for everyone to start
walking again. This may take a few seconds
or several minutes, and students new to
this exercise may take a while to relax and
feel comfortable with the anticipation. The
key thing is that the group gets to a point
where they can all respond as one and
make choices together without explicitly
communicating or following a leader.
The same principles apply to the
movement version of this exercise above.
Create a circle with students facing each
other. Ask the group to inhale and exhale
together. As above, find a shared moment
for the in and out breath, and then
return to breathing normally. After this is
established you can vocalise the out breath
with an “ah” sound which begins and ends
together. Work towards turning the sounds
into a word, ensuring the separate sounds
are articulated cleanly as a group. As you
become more and more practised, try
different scenarios where students move
around the room, close their eyes and work
in smaller groups.
Find a chorus speech with some
interesting, juicy words in it, and create a
choral version using the method above.
Ask students as individuals or in groups to
choose a different word from the text, and
create a gesture or physical movement to
complement it. Share and practise these
movements in the group until everyone is
confident with the movements. Arrange
the chorus ‘on stage’ facing out to the
audience, and try the whole thing together.
As with the previous exercises, no-one in
the group should lead or pull focus, and the
choral speaking should be as good as it was
before the actions were added. Once the
chorus is confident, try exploring the stage
with shoaling.
Shoaling
Choral speaking
Bring students into a tight circle all facing
the same direction. Set off together (as
they did above) and move as a mass,
all at the same speed and keeping the
same distance between each other.
Allow students to explore the room,
encountering obstacles like walls or
stacked chairs. Whoever ends up at the
‘front’ of the group sets the new direction
and speed. The aim is for the chorus to
move as fluidly as possible, like a shoal of
fish. Once they have got the hang of this,
ask the group to try and convey a mood or
an atmosphere.
Choose a sentence from a play or a
story and ask one member of the group
to perform it. If you can, record their
performance. Ask the rest of the group to
copy the way the sentence was delivered,
practising individually and matching
the speed, pronunciation and inflection.
Then ask them all to speak the sentence
together. Record this and play it back, it
should sound like one person with many
voices, rather than a group. This may take
some finessing, so keep practising until the
group are happy with their performance.
Play back the original solo speaker and
then the group version. How do they
compare? Do they sound as alive and
as engaging? Keep practising and try to
string a few sentences together using the
connected vocal task as they progress.
The Old Vic Teaching Resources
15
IAN RICKSON
Director
Why were you interested in directing
this play?
It’s an incredibly accessible play because
Sophocles, in Frank McGuinness’ same
brilliant version, writes about what it is to
be human in a really honest, committed,
intense way. We all have the primitive
deep drives that the characters have. It’s
such a privilege to direct a play with that
psychological insight and the bravery of
its execution.
What I’m trying to do is to set it in a kind
of elemental, primal, austere zone. Where
there’s earth, water, fire, air and characters.
Electra is a play where the Gods aren’t really
present. It’s all about people – everything
that happens is to do with people’s choices.
You can place it in a kind of timeless zone
where you’re not so bothered about the cut
of a tunic, or whether we use mobile phones
or not. It’s just there, with a kind of
thrumming liveness.
How will this production be different to how
the play was performed originally?
When you read these plays I think you have
a very profound internal experience of
the play. We’re not setting it in Mycenae
in 400 BCE, but neither are we setting it
somewhere specific. You’re just having a
profound, poetic, visceral experience of it.
Ian Rickson
actors find their character’s purposes and
there’s an honesty about it.
Do you have any advice for aspiring
directors?
I would say that directing is a really
rewarding nourishing and challenging
job that is complex but very simple. The
simplicity is about listening, enabling,
reading the play deeply, and creating an
environment where fellow collaborators can
work together to make something true, deep
I also think that most of the best plays, like How have you found working in the round
and important. But it’s a career that won’t
the best songs, films and poems are really
at The Old Vic?
be handed to you on a plate, and you have
just about one thing. And that is grief and
I felt that I couldn’t do the play end-on,
to have patience, and tenacity, and luck,
the processing of loss. And Electra, out of all I love the proscenium and I do most of my
and great stamina to get through the years
the Greek tragedies, is absolutely suffused work in that forum. But Electra has an even when practising your craft won’t be lucrative
with loss, with what it is to grieve and with
greater chance of working, I think, if the
financially. Yet, you can always practise
different types of grieving: pathological,
audience ‘become’ the chorus, the audience it, there’s lots of ways of developing your
repetitive, addictive grieving for a father
become complicit and involved, which is
skills – you can work with young people, you
that died many years ago, fresh grief for a
something that’s wonderful about the
can read lots of plays on your own. We need
brother who’s just died. All the way through renovation at The Old Vic and the way the
good directors, we need passionate people
the play I think we’re asked to connect and space is working at the moment. Working in coming through who are really enthusiastic
empathise with what the strengths and
it is lovely, it’s very freeing. You’re not really and believe that theatre is a really important
limitations are of different types of grieving. staging pictures, although I don’t really
art, so your passion and your belief in the
do that anyway. It’s simply about helping
importance of the craft is vital.
It’s also really profound in its analysis of
trauma. A number of years ago a mother
killed a father and the traumatic aftershock
of that act has atrophied and frozen Electra.
All the characters are in the shadow of that
act. I’m interested in how the writer and
the play is exploring the legacy of trauma,
whether healing is possible, and is violent,
bloody revenge a type of healing? It’s a
dangerous play, because if it works we
become so grafted onto the protagonist
Electra so that by the end we become
complicit with a double murder. I love
the play’s danger.
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MARK THOMPSON
Designer
How do you go about creating a design for such an
ancient play?
Every play or musical or opera, they all throw up certain
problems. It’s a puzzle, and in some ways this play isn’t
so problematic because it takes place in a universal
space. We know we have to be outside the gates of the
palace, and we’re not going to turn it on its head and
set it under a motorway. We are accepting the fact that
it is an ancient play which is set in Ancient Greece, but
it’s about universal issues.
Are there any particular themes or images that have
inspired the design?
I looked at references for war torn environments,
and considered if we were setting it modern day or
in Ancient Greece. I think if we set it completely in
Ancient Greece it becomes too alienating because
people wore such a different style of clothing. However,
in terms of the costume there is a whiff of something
ancient, ancient civilisation rather than Ancient Greece I
suppose. Other worldliness.
There is talk about a tree and the shade, and in a way
the play’s about life and growing and genealogy so I
made a choice that we would have a tree. Originally
we were considering a complete tree with a bow over
the entire action and with it all under dappling. But
it felt too protected and rather poetically romantic
rather than visceral and cruel. So I got rid of the tree’s
feminine quality, the leaves, the weeping branches and
it’s actually now very much a male symbol. It guards the
tomb of her father where she’s never allowed to go. It’s
ruined and it’s dead.
How is designing a show in the round different to an
end-on show?
Oddly, when I often design a show and get a slight
hiccup, I do the reverse. I say well if we were doing it at
the Royal Exchange in Manchester how would we do it
there? I try to deconstruct the notion of it. Being in the
round actually frees you up in many ways.
done in The Crucible, maybe cladding it all in concrete.
But then you have to ask, where is the audience? If
you’re making the balcony fronts like the set, are we in
the palace, are we in an arena? It works for some plays,
but I just don’t think it does for Electra.
What is your relationship with the director like?
Different directors work in different ways. Me and Ian
[the director] have worked together a few times before
and he likes to chew the cud and mill over ideas. I don’t
like directors who say “I really think it’s got to be this”,
because it’s not really very interesting to work that way.
He was very keen on the elemental – water, fire, earth.
And also he was very keen that we shouldn’t be too
gimmicky, that we just allow the play to speak for
itself and not set it on “Planet Zog”. There’s trust, for
instance, we’d had a couple of meetings and then he
was away for a bit and during this time I changed the
wall and tipped it forward. He was a bit concerned we
were making it operatic, and my response was that I
want to make the palace a prison. This darkness that
holds the family, I wanted to make it overpowering
in the space, to dominate. A good director–designer
relationship is a bit like a marriage, you second guess
each other, you nudge each other and you compromise
and you push each other towards something.
What advice would you give to young designers?
Believe in your vison and actually go for it, just do it.
I didn’t train. I read Theatre at university and loved
acting, directing, designing, loved all of it. But I was
always obsessed with how things looked. After leaving
university I applied for every job, totally unrealistically,
and I was turned down everywhere. A small theatre
in Worcester who had already turned me down readvertised the same job again. I rang them up and they
said the same thing – “you’re not qualified”. I told them
I had a portfolio of work, all you have to do is spend
15 minutes with me, they did, and I got the job. That’s
what I mean, believe in your vision, believe in yourself
and go for it.
One thing we discussed was the interior of the theatre,
where the audience sit. It’s very full on, it’s a bit tinsel
town, and we thought about covering it like they’ve
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JULIA DEARDEN,
GOLDA ROSHEUVEL
& THALISSA TEIXEIRA Chorus
What attracted you to being involved in this production?
Thalissa Teixeira (TT): The challenge of performing in
something which is so ancient, and is such an ancient way of
communicating, to a modern audience who will be coming in
to watch it from their day-to-day lives.
Julia Dearden (JD): One of the brilliant things about working
with Ian [the Director] is that it’s not too reverential. He’s
working in a way which makes the play accessible, and the
themes of the play are very much of the moment.
Golda Rosheuvel (GD): I was fascinated that Ian had called a
day’s workshop for a few actors to come in and explore what
might be possible with the chorus. To come up with some
ideas and to hear our thoughts about the play and how we
would approach doing it.
Julia Dearden, Golda Rosheuvel & Thalissa Teixeira
The chorus in a Greek play usually represents a whole
community, how will just three of you represent that
many people?
TT: Originally there would have been 15 members of the
chorus. So the fact that there’s three of us means that we can
draw on our own character’s life a lot more and where we’ve
come from. Whether we work for the palace, who employs us,
how we might have been affected by the war. I think that’s
What would your advice be to any students thinking of
something Ian’s really keen on bringing into this performance, pursuing acting as a career?
the memory of the war.
JD: My advice to anyone who wants to act now would be
to learn another skill, something practical like electrician,
How do you work together as a chorus?
plumber, driver, so that when they’re not acting they can take
GD: It’s very human, we’re individual people, we have
it up quickly because very often when you’re not working
individual stories, but we are together on stage. We each have the problem is you think “I can’t do that job because what
our individual attitudes towards Electra.
happens if I get an interview, what happens if I get a job”. Just
JD: We’re now in week three, and decisions about the chorus
learn a practical skill. That would be my advice.
are still not completely fixed. It’s been talked about at one
TT: You basically end up with this strange nomadic life, you
time about being a main artery to her. We are connected to
get placed in different places, you get put with a whole load of
her, but we’re not ‘of’ her.
different people and you have to be open enough to let that
TT: We have a job to look after her, we truly love her. We are
path take you and enjoy that. If you want to tell a story, and
there to make sure she doesn’t come to harm, or doesn’t do
are keen to give your heart out and get a point across then it’s
too much harm herself.
something you should do.
GD: Don’t be fooled by the glamour. It’s not glamorous, its
How have you found the rehearsal process so far?
hard work. If you’re up for pursuing your passion fiercely and
GD: All my expectations have been fulfilled.
disappointingly, an actor’s life for you.
JD: It’s very exciting, and it’s very exciting to work with people JD: Follow your dream just follow it, go for it! Don’t let
who are extremely good at their jobs. Working with the best,
anything get in your way.
it’s just such a treat.
TT: Working with people who are willing to be vulnerable,
it’s good to be in that environment.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Sophocles, Electra and Other Plays translation and introduction by EF Watling (1953)
Strong, Donald E, The Classical World (1965)
Wiles, David, Greek Theatre Performance: An Introduction (2000)
Worthen, WB, The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama (2003)
Websites
www.britannica.com
www.ancient.eu
www.ancientgreece.com
www.sophocles.net
www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/exploring-theatres
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