THE adventurous Galloping Cat company have, for their latest outing, gone back to the dawn of theatre. They have taken the great trilogy by Aeschylus, The Oresteia, and fused the three plays into a familiar with the themes of ancient Greek drama will find here a lucid introduction and those who are will not disdain this production.
It opens with the killing of Iphegenia by her father Agamemnon, about to leave Argos to wage war on Troy, in obeisance to the gods. When he returns, 10 years later, he is killed in turn by his vengeful wife Clytemnestra, aided by her lover Aegisthus. Her son Orestes and daughter Electra in due and ordained course avenge their father, and the curse on the House of Atreus ripples on down through the generations.
Director Mark O'Brien has found an apt style for movement, stately or sinuous, and, for speech, passionate though formal. His use of lighting and sound are atmospheric.
The actors achieve an impressive ensemble creation through collective discipline and individual interpretation. In the lead roles, Michael McInerney (Agamemnon) Sheila McDonald (Clytemnestra), Aiden Condron (Orestes), Sharon Cromwell (Iphegenia Electra) and Jonathan Ryder (Aegisthus) are excellent, as are their supports. It is easy to find a topical relevance in their staccato reprise of blood for blood, life for life. The mafia call it vendetta, the Irish patriotism.
