The Oresteia
"When the daughters of darkness
The voices of blood and the earth
Take their revenge."
Alecto, Magaera and Tisiphone are The Three Furies, ancient Goddesses of vengeance sent as punishment to guard the underworld for all eternity.
Their new home isn't exactly a picture of domestic bliss. The house is a mess and The Furies are bored. With only the occasional torture and persecution of a soul to pass the time, they exist now in an endless haze of trivial pursuit and instant coffee.
These Goddesses never imagined that routine revenge would end in banishment and frankly, they're not impressed. The only escape from the monotony of their new lives is to play out their tale of exile until they figure out exactly what went wrong.
This darkly humorous interpretation of Aeschylus' The Oresteia sees The Three Furies bring to life kings and queens, lovers and puppets, with only their old newspapers to help them.
In an epic tale of women scorned, The Furies seek their justice.
Show Credits:
Directed by: Gita Bezard and Kathryn Osborne
Producer and Publicist: Gita Bezard
Show Image by Freya Pitt
Production Manager and Lighting Designer: Kathryn Osborne
Images by Donna Ferreri
Performed by: Alissa Claessens, Fran Middleton and Sarah McKellar
Synopsis of Aeschylus' The Oresteia
The Back Story
Agamemnon, King of Argos, sets out for Troy to win back his brother's wife Helen. On his departure there is no wind, so he sacrifices his daughter to the Gods and sails off to Troy. Back home in Argos, Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra is having an affair with his cousin Aegisthus. Together they plot to avenge the death of Clytemnestra's daughter and seize the throne.
The Oresteia
Ten years later, Agamemnon returns victorious from the Trojan War, bringing with him a beautiful young prophet and slave, Cassandra. Cassandra has a vision of Clytemnestra killing her and Agamemnon, but she is cursed so that no one will ever believe her prophesies. However, as predicted, Clytemnestra kills both of them and she and Aegisthus become the new rulers of Argos.
Soon afterwards, Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, hears of his fathers death and swears revenge. Encouraged by the God Apollo, he sets off to the palace where he kills Aegisthus. His mother begs for her life, and Orestes hesitates but the desire to avenge his father is too strong and eventually her kills her too. Enter The Eumenides, or The Furies, the Goddesses of Vengeance of Matricide, who must avenge the death of Clytemnestra at the hands of her son.
The Furies hunt Orestes, who with the help of Apollo reaches the Goddess Athena, who declares a trial to be held to determine Orestes guilt or innocence. The jury's decision is tied and the final vote is Athena's, who votes on the side of Orestes. She banishes the Furies to guard Tartarus, a place deep in the Underworld where the souls of the condemned were exiled.
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