L'Orestie: The iconic classical trilogy revisited by Alice Ronfard

After taking on Michel Tremblay’s body of work in the unforgettable Traversée du siècle, Alice Ronfard tackles the seminal text of Western theatre, if not of Western thought. Like an ambitious theatrical river, her adaptation flows from ancient Greece to the present day, carrying with it the timeless question of justice. Three tragedies, about thirty performers (including a large chorus and three musicians): an epic journey through the centuries.

When King Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia, to the gods, his wife, Clytemnestra, kills him in revenge. Plagued by an insoluble dilemma, their son, Orestes, takes his father’s side and murders his mother, invoking the wrath of the indomitable Furies. A trial under the aegis of Athena concludes this masterpiece, translated and adapted by the director herself. Ronfard breathes new life into Aeschylus’s passionate language and explores the burning issues he raises: collective versus personal justice, destiny versus free will, and the law of men versus the law of women.

This theatrical fresco, comprising Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Eumenides, is performed by a cast of luminous actors who take a free and distinctive approach to speech, song, and movement. The iconic trilogy takes on the air of a grand happening, pulsating to the rhythm of our era—an era thirsty for restitution and social justice, but also for beauty.

Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.