IPHIGENIA AT AULIS
Drama — 70 minutes / 6M, 2W

Adapted from 'Ιφιγεvειœ εv Αùλíδι by Euripides
Based on a literal translation by Roger Beck

synopsis

The Greek army, bound for Troy, is stalled at Aulis because the winds have died down. The Gods' price for setting sail is the life of Agamemnon's daughter, Iphigenia, whom he calls to Aulis under the false pretense of marrying her to Achilles. Agamemnon hems and haws about his decision, which leads to explosive arguments with his wife Clytemnestra and his brother Menelaus. Should he sacrifice his daughter for his country? As the army grows restless for action, Iphigenia makes an unexpected decision: she will die for the glory of a Greek victory at Troy.

“The oldest play on view this year, by two and a half millennia, is also, of those I've seen, the most exciting. [...] The closing sections of this production are drainingly powerful, the real Athenian McCoy."”

 
“Euripides' tragedy about violence in wartime comes through with maximum power in Alan Dilworth's clear, timeless production. Nicolas Billon and Roger Beck's translation is direct and powerful[.]”

 
“But rather then subverting and humanizing the characters in this ancient tale, Billon's faithful version hews to Euripidean archetypes. Passion and desires are expressed through rhetoric, and fatalism is absolute (the ancient Greeks believed immutably that their fates were subject to the capricious whims of the gods).”

August 6 – 15, 2010
SummerWorks Theatre Festival (Toronto, Canada)
Factory Theatre Mainspace
Cast: Sarah Orenstein, Stephen Bogaert, Eryn Murman, David Fox, Eric Goulem, Stephen Gartner, Sarena Parmar, Neema Bickersteth, Bronwyn Caudle
Director: Alan Dilworth