Oresteia review, Almeida Theatre

It was my good fortune to sit next to a renowned theatre writer on the train home from Oresteia. He told me that the first act - which I complained was dull and long with everyone talking over each other so I wasn't sure which conversation was the most instructive - had been added on.  Oresteia traditionally comprises three short plays.  Here we have four. And while the first act was interesting for a bit - a rumination on the difference between belief and knowledge, tradition and habit - it soon palled. Thankfully the next two acts are terrific but, we both agreed as the train drew in at Camden Road, Jessica Brown Findlay who plays Electra and is a star of Downton Abbey, was the weak link.

That said, the central performances - the rangy and vulpine Angus Wright as Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae, who sacrifices his daughter in order to win a war, and Lia Williams as his wife Clytemnestra, who later murders her husband and the psychic mute, Cassandra, who she believes is his concubine - are utterly compelling. The fabulous Clara Read played the sacrificed child, Iphigenia, this evening, tunelessly singing the Beach Boys hit God only knows what I'd do without you as she circled the kitchen table prophetically. Newcomer Luke Thompson does a great turn as the son, Orestes, going on to kill his mum and restore the natural order (sic) with men at the top.

The modern set and setting is terrific. There are some thrillingly scary moments. There is clever use of a real-time electronic clock which even facilitates timed toilet breaks for the audience. The palace is a modern home straight out of The World of Interiors. Agamemnon and family are pure Tony-Blair-Islington in look, speech, and manner. This is appropriate because a) that's where the theatre is located and b) Islington is lawyer country, and Oresteia ultimately - though somewhat confusingly in Robert Icke's lively retelling - leads to the setting up of the first justice system. That's the final play.

In conclusion: Tonight a theatre first: a long snaking queue to the men's loo during the timed ten minute interval. There are just two intervals across three hours and forty minutes. Take water.  And don't worry if you don't know the story, the 'what's going on here' effect only happens in the last half hour and by then the best bits of drama are done anyway.

References
Almeida Theatre: Tickets


Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, London N1.               Run ends 18 July.