Cate Traywick, Arts and Entertainment Editor
From Oct. 8-11, the Sewanee Theatre department staged the Greek play, The Oresteia. From its striking and unconventional set to powerful performance and characters, its four day run at the Tennessee Williams Center was not one to forget.
Adapted from Aeschylus’s trilogy by the same name, The Oresteia is one of few surviving works of ancient Greek theater, yet its themes of justice, history and above all revenge ring true as ever throughout its nearly two hour runtime.
The show follows Clytemnestra, played by Ella Mitchell (C ‘27), left in the wake of her daughter’s death at the hands of her husband Agamemnon, determined to get revenge. We watch Clytemnestra’s spiral into deep grief and anger, killing her husband and enduring the consequences of her actions.
“Clytemnestra is such a morally complex character,” Mitchell told The Sewanee Purple, “this role took a lot of time just sitting and thinking about her motives… I tried to work a lot with physicality in posture and movement along with my breath to really sort of connect with her distorted state of mind.”
Mitchell gave a stunning performance, tapping into an incredible breadth of emotion. She moved seamlessly from the quiet beats of Clytemnestra’s grief to her bombastic rage, elevating the performance and bringing the house down when it was her turn to take a bow.
It wouldn’t be Greek theater without the dynamic presence of the Chorus played by Grayson Davis (C ‘26), Anne Marie Florida (C ‘29), Ivy Francis Moore (C ‘26), Jules Bardi, Natalie Turnage (C ‘27), Annalise Doyle (C ‘26), Shana Still (C’ ‘29), and Quentin Slate (C ‘28). The eight piece ensemble became the living heartbeat of the show, reflecting on characters’ actions and adding a sinister air to every scene. The Chorus functioned as a dubious moral guide, encouraging characters to exact their revenge or show mercy, reject the truth or face it, all culminating in a trial that forced characters and audiences alike to confront the blurred boundaries of morality.
The spectacle of this show is truly captivating, with dozens of students and staff working on the production. The lights, set, and soundscape work together to create an entire world within the Proctor Hill theater, utilizing unconventional design to mirror the nature of the show.
The stage was set in traverse style, an arrangement that has the audience on either side with the stage set between. “I feel like it really added to the effect of the heavy themes of the play,” Mitchell added, “ it was like the characters were constantly surrounded by onlookers at all sides”
The Oresteia plays into the idea of spectacle a great deal. One of the most memorable moments of the play was from Olive Elston (C ‘29) who portrayed Cassandra, a shellshocked captive that returns from war alongside Agamemnon. Her arrival marks a turning point in the play and in her short time onstage Elston absolutely steals the show.
“She is incredibly tortured, broken, and bitter. I tried to keep her pain in mind,” Elston said, “She spends a whole scene being chastised by Clytemnestra and not saying a single word in response, just letting the tension of what she would say build in her body. This physical work paired with the briefness of her scene made it a challenge.” From the show it is evident that Elston put her all into Cassandra, bringing a great deal of feeling and depth and giving the audience one of the show’s strongest moments.
Sewanee’s production of The Oresteia had compelling performances across the board. In addition to Mitchell, Elston, and the Chorus, Charlie Grundy as Orestes, Victoria Ryan as Electra, Arden-Grace Gipson as Iphigenia and visiting professor Durell Cooper as Agamemnon, were incredible, each embodying their characters in every sense of the word. Each element of the production came together beautifully, creating a show that was both powerful and deeply human. The Oresteia was a stunning testament to Sewanee Theatre’s talent, leaving audiences captivated with its themes long after the bows.