Revenge tragedy show divides critics

The Bridge Theatre

The critics were as divided as the family they witnessed pulling itself apart in Simon Stone‘s adaptation of The Oresteia by Aeschylus. Some were gripped by its entire length (‘relentlessly gripping, its three-and-a-half hours whizzing by’ Time Out), others couldn’t wait for it to finish (‘a very long evening’ The Times). Placing a modern family in designer Lizzie Clachan‘s glass tank appealed to some but not others. Ditto taking out the moral element of Greek tragedy. The acting of David Morrissey, Mary-Louise Parker, Rosie Sheehy and Tom Glynn-Carney, was universally praised.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

For Olivia Rook at LondonTheatre it couldn’t have been better: ‘The brutal conflict that occurs within the walls of the Middleton home (is) a microcosm for the wars waging beyond their front door. There is no doubt Stone’s adaptation is a play for today — and one that the Greeks would be proud of.’ She explained: ‘Stone has taken Aeschylus’ tale of cycles of trauma and revenge and placed it in the well-to-do yet dysfunctional home of the Middletons, showing how political misalignment, greed, generational trauma, and mental illness can tear a family apart.’ She described the process: ‘Stone cleverly uses an oscillating timeline — between the play’s beginnings in 2016 and the present day — to unpack how these lies and secrets lead to a suicide and four grisly murders, peeling back the layers of the play like an open wound that refuses to heal.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtis described the set: ‘the play happens in a glass cube, an opulent modernist mansion in miniature from Lizzie Clachan – concrete walls, chrome-edged recliners – lit from within by Nick Schlieper, turning each scene into a modern Gothic tableau.’ The occupants of the cube impressed him: ‘David Morrissey does what he does pre-eminently, i.e. gruff patriarch battling demons. It’s a joy to see Mary-Louise Parker bring her ironic half-smile … and even more so to watch her descent into grief and bitterness and finally a dead-eyed despair.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski called it ‘trashy as hell and yet relentlessly gripping, its three-and-a-half hours whizzing by.’

The Financial Times‘ Sarah Hemming described how Aeschylus’ work  is ‘reimagined in a shattering, superbly acted psychodrama about generational discord, inherited trauma and the insane, implacable logic of war. Yes, it’s flecked with black comedy, but, fundamentally, it’s steeped in despair and blazing anger: an Oresteia for our broken world.’ As to the acting: ‘the younger generation is outstanding. Sheehy’s Alice is a study in lost purpose and numbing grief, and, fleetingly, as the more dynamic Isobel; Glynn-Carney’s Augie is disturbing and vulnerable, undone by the psychiatric scars of childhood trauma and military service in Afghanistan.’

The Independent’s Alice Saville began: ‘The Oresteia is famously messed up, following a family that hacks itself apart in a frenzy of bloodshed and revenge. Even so, there’s something joltingly dark and merciless about Simon Stone’s latest,characteristically free take on a classic. On the stage of the Bridge Theatre, he traps his characters in a giant glass tank like lobsters in a seafood restaurant, then makes them fight until they’re devoured by a pitiless world. It’s uncomfortable, agonisingly drawn out, and brilliant.’ She added enthusiastically: ‘this is a masterfully constructed play, turning a familiar story into a consistently tense murder mystery with an artfully splintered timeline. Miraculously, its three-and-a-half-hour runtime never feels long, thanks to two intervals and an endless stock of boxset-worthy twists and shifts of mood.’

WhatsOnStage‘s Sarah Crompton said the ‘dialogue is fast-paced, overlapping, and convincingly real. Stone plays with the timeframe, darting back and forwards through events over a decade from 2016 until 2026, turning them into a thriller as much as a tragedy.’ She praised his direction: ‘direction is impeccable, constantly ratcheting up the pressure while allowing the characters space to breathe.’ She described the ending: ‘There is – in contrast to Aeschylus’s dramatic arc over his trilogy of plays – no resolution, no forgiveness or justice. Stone’s stripped-back, brutal version strands us with the overwhelming sense of chaos that violence, compromise, and constant war bring. This is Greek tragedy for an age of insanity.’

‘It’s not flawless, but it is thrilling theatre’ declared The Sunday Times’ Dominic Maxwell.  He explained he had mixed feelings and gave us a spoiler to explain why: ‘When it’s a 21st-century Abigail’s Party streaked with slaughter, it’s truly great. Now and then it succumbs to overthinking or the comedy gets too broad. Worse, when you finally learn of Isobel’s fate, it turns out that Christopher has figuratively sacrificed his daughter for his career, not literally like Agamemnon did. The ending feels badly fudged as a result.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar was less enamoured by the production: ‘Like a TV thriller, the action holds you, but the frenetic plotting does not leave much room for the psychological element.There is a lack of internal logic to the plotting and flat, shrill characters.’

Dave Fargnoli of The Stage also had reservations about the adaptation: ‘Stone’s adaptation boils out all of the tale’s grandeur and moral struggle, leaving us with a grubby story of shame and needless killing (…) Despite the undeniable ferocity of the performances, Stone’s unrestrained revenge saga feels strangely bloodless.’ He wondered whether putting the cast behind glass might be partly to blame: ‘On press night at least, the result was a distinctly muffled, echoey sound that robbed some performer’s lines of depth and texture. Stone’s commitment to capturing the realistic rhythms of conversation leads to constantly overlapping dialogue and argumentative interruptions that further garble his text.’ Nevertheless he admired the actors: ‘The entire cast is fully committed, and its characters’ relationships feel meaty and richly drawn, offering unexpected twists on their classical counterparts.’

Alexander Cohen for BroadwayWorld gave credit to the actors: ‘Rosy Sheehy is a standout as Alice, whose insecurity, we can detect bubbling beneath the surface. Mary-Louise Parker’s Monty (standing in for Clytemnestra), is all clipped vowels and controlled stillness that culminates in a tangibly terrifying climax.’ But he opined: ‘Although suavely cloaked in contemporary dress, the underlying dynamics don’t quite translate. Greek tragedy demands that the killing be both morally understandable and unconscionable at once. Isabelle takes her own life rather than being sacrificed by Christopher, and the cycle of revenge that follows never garners the weight it needs. By the end of a gruelling three and a half hours, there isn’t much moral meat left on the bone, just a slasher gorefest.’

Claire Allfree for the Telegraph warned: ‘There is … a problem with tone. Often, there is too thin a line between the default mode of excoriating black wit and glib farce. Some of the more political declamations feel like mini-lectures. And it’s almost impossible to take the shock-and-awe grotesquerie of Part Three seriously’.

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Times’ Clive Davis had a long evening but he began with a positive: ‘he certainly gets some potent performances out of a cast led by David Morrissey and the American actress Mary-Louise Parker. It’s quite possible to spend half of a very long evening admiring Lizzie Clachan’s revolving set, even though you have the nagging feeling that Stone’s penchant for locking actors inside glass boxes is subject to diminishing returns.’ He concluded: ‘None of these privileged folk win your sympathy. Tableaux are intercut as if we are watching a screen thriller, albeit one in which every other scene goes missing. If you’re not familiar with the original sources, you’ll be confused. But even if you know the texts by heart, you may still be in the dark at the end.’

Critics’ average rating 3.7⭑

Value rating 41 (Critics’ rating divided by typical ticket price)

The Oresteia can be seen at the Bridge Theatre until 19 September 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre www.bridgetheatre.co.uk

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