Outline how you would stage Electra in the theatre, justifying your choices and explaining how your design would contribute to the play’s meaning

Electra is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Sophocles around 425-413 BCE, during the time of the Great Peloponnesian War, which ruined Athens. The plot takes place in medias-res when Orestes, the long lost son of Agamemnon, returns under the orders of Apollo’s Oracle, to kill his mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for them having murdered his father Agamemnon, after Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia during the Trojan War. Electra is Orestes sister, who unites with Orestes to then successfully carry out the murders. To stage this play, I would have a semi-in-the-round configuration to replicate the traditional Greek amphitheatre setting. I would use choices of set, props costumes, and lighting and sound symbolically, throughout the play, in order to highlight Sophocles’ questioning of the effects of war, his questioning of morality and the society he lived in as a whole, which in turn, relates to the context of the Peloponnesian War. I would also ensure that I find many moments within the stage design of the play, in which these meanings could be linked to modern day. I would also be sure to reflect on previous productions of Electra for inspiration in how to achieve this; I would also be inspired by varying practitioners, particularly Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, to vary the style of the stage design, and vary the effect on the audience.    

For the opening scene of the play, pages 3-5, when Orestes returns to Argos undercover of both darkness and false identity, with his Tutor (the man who looked after him as a child) and Pylades (his friend), I would have them enter from downstage centre, through the runway in the audience, they would begin the dialogue on page 3 upon entrance but in a stage whisper, and would reach centre stage by the line ‘Hera’s famous temple’.  They would be walking closely together, Orestes in the middle of both of the other characters, as he is the central character out of the three in this scene. They would each be wearing plain, light brown Sackcloth shirt and trousers, with rough dark brown leather shoes, to reflect that they are undercover as a false identity, by pretending to be the urn-bearers of Orestes (fake) ashes, in order to gain access to the palace and commit a surprise attack on Clytemnestra and Aegisthus - this I was inspired by the 1997 production of Electra, at The Donmar Warehouse, in which Orestes wore this exact clothing. For sound, here would be the sound effect of whistling wind, through surround-sound loudspeakers, at 40% volume, to reflect some light wind but not swallow-up the dialogue;  a small wind machine could be place in the line of the character’s walking, but hidden from audience’s view, perhaps it could be disguised as The Tree of Agamemnon, which would be centre stage, and could be brought up and lowered through the trapdoor - this presence of wind would reflect the presence of the Gods in Greek Theatre, which in the past would have been created by use of a Mechane or Theologian. The lighting would be minimal, around a 20% intensity, dark blue wash across the stage downwards from the flyspace, to reflect that it is night-time (early morning) when they arrive, and to enhance the mysterious and tense atmosphere in this scene. The Palace Skene at the back of the stage, would have an almost floor-to-ceiling, large brown double-door in its centre, which would be lit up with 100% intensity white birdie lights, this would draw some focus towards the door, and would symbolically represent Orestes’ mission as the lights draw focus to the door and the palace and thus highlight his objective; this would also enhance highlight the theme of: opposing values of justice versus expediency, as Orestes’ mission is a confliction of the two values. To close this scene, when Orestes and his companions leave the stage to hide from Electra, so that they do not blow their cover, I would Orestes walk upstage towards the door on the line ‘should we wait and listen?’, to reflect his love for Electra and how he’s missed her all the 15-20 years that he hasn’t been in contact with her; however, the three would pace quickly off, via the exit-runway on stage right, and would do this on the line ‘that should guarantee victory and success in all we do’; Electra would then enter stage through the palace door under an 80% intensity white spotlight, so that she is given the main focus, and the chorus would enter with the 50% intensity of the same lighting from either side of the Parados, to be in keeping with the traditional Greek Amphitheatre setting.