This Restless House
An Adaptation of Aeschlyus' Oresteia
Published on 12. May 2016
192 pages
978-0-571-33263-2 (ISBN)
Description
'Electrifying . . . This four-hour epic of ambition and power is a sinewy reworking of Aeschylus that explodes into a cacophonous climax.' GUARDIAN *****
Aeschylus' Oresteia opens with Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to the gods; an act which sets in motion a bloody cycle of revenge and counter-revenge. When he in turn is killed at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra, their son Orestes takes up the mantle of avenging his father, continuing the bloodshed until peace is ultimately found in the rule of law.
Zinnie Harris reimagines this ancient drama, using a contemporary sensibility to rework the stories, placing the women in the centre. Orestes' leading role is replaced by his sister Electra, who as a young child witnesses her father's murder and is compelled to take justice into her own hands until she too must flee the Furies.
Winner: Best New Play, Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland
This Restless House premiered at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in April 2016 in a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland.
Aeschylus' Oresteia opens with Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to the gods; an act which sets in motion a bloody cycle of revenge and counter-revenge. When he in turn is killed at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra, their son Orestes takes up the mantle of avenging his father, continuing the bloodshed until peace is ultimately found in the rule of law.
Zinnie Harris reimagines this ancient drama, using a contemporary sensibility to rework the stories, placing the women in the centre. Orestes' leading role is replaced by his sister Electra, who as a young child witnesses her father's murder and is compelled to take justice into her own hands until she too must flee the Furies.
Winner: Best New Play, Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland
This Restless House premiered at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in April 2016 in a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland.
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
0,92 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-571-33263-2 (9780571332632)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2016
Faber & Faber
€16.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Zinnie Harris's plays include the multi-award-winning Further than the Furthest Thing (National Theatre/Tron Theatre; winner of the 1999 Peggy Ramsay Award, 2001 John Whiting Award, Edinburgh Fringe First Award), How to Hold Your Breath (Royal Court Theatre; joint winner of the Berwin Lee Award), The Wheel (National Theatre of Scotland; joint winner of the 2011 Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award), Nightingale and Chase (Royal Court Theatre), Midwinter, Solstice (both RSC), Fall (Traverse Theatre/RSC), By Many Wounds (Hampstead Theatre), the trilogy This Restless House (Citizens Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland), based on Aeschylus' Oresteia and Meet Me at Dawn (Traverse Theatre). Also, Ibsen's A Doll's House for the Donmar Warehouse, Strindberg's Miss Julie for the National Theatre of Scotland and Webster's The Duchess (of Malfi) (Royal Lyceum Theatre). Zinnie received an Arts Foundation Fellowship for playwriting, and was Writer in Residence at the RSC, 2000-2001. She is Professor of Playwriting and Screenwriting at St Andrews University, and is the Associate Director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.
Content
- Intro
- Cover
- Landing Page
- Title Page
- Contents
- Introduction by Charlotte Higgins
- This Restless House
- Part One: Agamemnon's Return
- Characters
- Act One
- Act Two
- Act Three
- Part Two: The Bough Breaks
- Characters
- The Bough Breaks
- Part Three: Electra and Her Shadow
- Characters
- Electra and Her Shadow
- About Zinnie Harris
- Also by Zinnie Harris
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Punctuation
- Programme Information
- Copyright
