The Sewanee Department of Theatre & Dance Presents
The Oresteia
by Ellen McLaughlin
adapted from the trilogy by Aeschylus
directed by Assistant Professor Sarah Lacy Hamilton
"The Oresteia is based on the three plays by Aeschylus—Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides. They are among the oldest plays in the Western canon and are the only surviving trilogy from the ancient Greek theatre.
The Oresteia concerns the House of Atreus. Through ten years of war, grief, and rage, Clytemnestra lies in wait for her husband Agamemnon's return, determined to avenge one child, only to doom the others. The community, haunted by the sins of the present and the past, must then decide how to cleanse the royal house and balance both the need for justice and the desire for absolution.
What does history demand? What is justice? What do we owe each other? The Greeks ask all the toughest questions." -- Ellen McLaughlin
Performances will be held at the Proctor Hill Theatre at the Tennessee Williams Center October 8 - 11 at 7:30pm and October 12, 2025 at 2:00pm.
