In the spectacular space of the Open Theater of the Old Olive Oil Factory, against the visual background of the industrial buildings and monuments of the cultural tradition of Elefsina, the world premiere of the play “Clytemnestra” by the Flemish troupe tg took place. S(top) T(thinking) A(about) N(ames). It should be noted that the members of the team work collectively, without an internal hierarchy, according to the ideological principle of the ensemble theater. The bold dramatic composition is based on the English adaptation of Aeschylus’ Aeschylus by Ted Hughes and the poetic text Bloodbath by the Austrian writer Gustav Ernst.

In the bilingual production, staged by Yolande de Keersmaeker, there is a departure from the mythical event, and the dramatic load of light didacticism that the theatrical discourse carries is tense to the limit. The spectator is weighed down by the main burden of women’s accusatory discourse, formulated in the form of a declaration of the moral equality of the two sexes. The text of the adaptation is dominated by a narrative tone, the dialogic element recedes, and when it is present, it is harmoniously combined with the movement and dance of the bodies of the actors, two of whom are also dancers (Sinne Enoksen and Joshua Serafin). ). All roles gradually pass through the participants of the tragic dance (Antonis Antonopoulos, Sine Enoksen, Sarah Heck, Eleni Molesky, Joshua Serafin), a dynamic and energetic dance that even conditionally functions as a means of connecting the stage composition with Aeschylus tragedy. The members of the troupe participate in a dynamic and energetic run across the round dirt ground, which also serves as a battlefield. The beginning and end of the play are sealed by the momentum of the actors’ bodies and the unbearable dust caused by the footsteps of humans and animals from the frenzied running of the warriors, as well as the Trojan citizens as they run fast and desperately trying to escape the horrendous danger of carnage.

In the play, Aegisthus is absent, the maiden form of Iphigenia (Adriana Baker) roams, and the crime is organized solely by the four Clytemnestras (Maria Skula, Sine Enoksen, Sarah Heck and Eleni Moleski), who reflect the archetype of a vengeful woman, daughter of Leda, widow of Tantalus and sister of Helen the Beautiful. They prismatically depict the fate of the “obscene”, “scrofa” Queen of Argos, a tragic heroine who prepares women’s revenge in the most masterful way in mythical history. Maria Skula, with restraint and acting maturity, interprets the basic version of the theatrical Clytemnestra, takes off her royal sandals, skillfully spread out a huge purple reception carpet for Agamemnon, and, like a queen, sympathizes with the grieving slaves with human warmth and sensitivity. losses in the “empty building” of Troy. Maria Skula emphasized the gloomy scene of the murder of Agamemnon as an earthly heroine, devoid of the weight of the tragic element.

Clytemnestra punishes Agamemnon for all male crimes against humanity and especially for violence and any cruelty, real and imagined, that a male committed against a female. He is played by the extremely talented actor Steen van Opstal, who has an excellent combination of speech and physical manner, which fully expresses the dramatic-grotesque component. This is an actor who gives the impression that he first felt the drama and then expressed it grotesquely. He portrayed a soldier who “went to Troy on business”, but also to protect “the honor of his brother”, sowed death and returned to Argos physically ill, with dirty chlamydia. He depicted a hero in slippers pulling a horse-drawn cart, which he comically climbs from the steps of a metal staircase. He draws a caricature of himself. He leaves the devastation behind and, exhausted, enters the bath, believing that he will enjoy a quiet royal life. Proud of his sexual accomplishments, he gloats over the sexual abuse he inflicts on Cassandra, Priam’s daughter, for in this love story he is psychoanalytically led to the conclusion that it is Priam himself who is raping, not just Cassandra. The scene of his murder in the bathtub is very powerful, a splash scene where red blood flows everywhere and the once-powerful Achaeus drowns in his own blood.

In the bilingual performance directed by Iolente de Keersmaeker, the narrative tone prevails, the dialogic element recedes.

The locality of Agamemnon, his removal from the glory of the conqueror of Troy, his deprivation of any element of transcendent charm, is the strongest dramatic element of the Flemish adaptation. In the scene of his bloody murder, a modern version of androcide could have been completed so that the scene of running through the mud would not be repeated.

I think that the dirty stage is an element of theatrical fashion. However, in the performance of “Elefsina” we, as spectators, “enjoyed” all the senses.

* Ms. Rhea Grigoriou is a Doctor of History and Dramaturgy at AUTH and Professor of Greek Culture at EAP.