About the Play:

Electra is a tragic tale of duty, retribution and fate by Sophocles. Greek princess Electra waits for her brother, Orestes, to return home and help her plan revenge on their mother, Clytemnestra, for her murdering of their father, Agamemnon, in Sophocles' tragedy.

King Agamemnon, on returning from the Trojan Wars, is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Now, to avenge the crime, their daughter Electra must commit one even worse and face the inevitable consequences. This brilliant new translation by Nicholas Rudall is made with a direct eye on the stage. It aims at clarity and simplicity and captures the power of the play for contemporary audiences.

Cast: 2 women, 7 men, plus chorus and extras

What people say:

"A marvel of compression and spare, evocative English." — Chicago Tribune

About the Author:

Sophocles was born at Colonus, just outside Athens, in 496 BC, and lived ninety years. He wrote over a hundred plays for the Athenian theater, and is said to have come first in twenty-four contests.

D. Nicholas Rudall is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Classics at the University of Chicago. He has directed many classical works at the Court Theatre, of which he is the founding director. His teaching is focused on tragedy and the ancient theater, Aristophanes, and Propertius.