Review: ‘The Oresteia’ by Shakespeare Theatre Company

DC Review
By Barbara Mackay 
May 7, 2019

Enough to drive one mad with joy...

“To theater historians, dramaturgs, and lovers of all things Greek, the promise of a production of Aeschylus’ The Oresteia is enough to drive one mad with joy. To begin with, of all the Greek plays that have survived, The Oresteia is the only one in which the entire trilogy exists. The three plays (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides), which won first place in The Dionysia festival in 458 B.C., are in large part the basis for our knowledge of Greek tragedy. So for months, theatergoers in Washington have been looking forward to the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s new adaptation of The Oresteia, written by Ellen McLaughlin and directed by Michael Kahn…”