Klytaimnḗstra

2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture presents the world premiere of the performance Klytaimnḗstra by the renowned Belgian group tg STAN. Based on Aeschylus’ “Agamemnon”, this groundbreaking performance is held at the birthplace of the master tragedian to question contemporary gender identities and give a voice to the voiceless.

Tg STAN, one of the most important contemporary theater ensembles in Europe, with a groundbreaking aesthetic and a long career in both contemporary drama and the classical repertoire, bring to Elefsina an emblematic performance, shedding light on a critical figure of tragedy, Clytemnestra. Based on an idea by Jolente De Keersmaeker, a founding member of the group and a formidable figure in the European performing arts scene, the performance approaches the three different versions of the first part of Oresteia in an unexpected way: it connects the astonishing poetic power of the original work by Aeschylus skillfully translated into English by Ted Hughes, and “injects” it with Austrian author Gustav Ernst’s “Blood Bath”, a work of raw and dismembered poetry that no longer follows Agamemnon’s perspective, but Clytemnestra’s instead.

Combining speech and dance aligned with the Greek choral tradition, and creating an unexpected polyphonic ensemble, with actors from Greece and Belgium and two dancers from the Philippines and Norway, tg STAN’s Klytaimnḗstra emphatically projects an important paradox; Women, who were silenced in the real world, earned a public function in tragic plays: the liberty to put their feelings, thoughts and motives into words. In this story, where rape and murder are ubiquitous, although seemingly trivial at the same time, Clytemnestra is not just a character avenging her daughter. She is the mother of all mothers, an obstructionist embodying female intuition and the non-rational, making a fundamental impact in her own way. Serving a critical function as both a woman and as an outsider—she is not even from Mycenae—she refuses to accept the situation as it is and deliberately chooses to fight violence with violence. Not out of pleasure—as is the case with Agamemnon—but because it is the only way to challenge the injustice against women and innocent citizens. 

How can modern society, thousands of years after the writing of obscene work by Aeschylus, remain indifferent to barbarism? How can misogyny remain acceptable in modern times? When does intuition trump rationality? And what kind of associations does this age-old story of honor and revenge evoke in our bodies today?

The first part of Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy focuses on the story of King Agamemnon and his wife Clytemnestra. The royal decides to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia, securing a favorable wind to sail his ships to Troy. When Agamemnon eventually wins the Trojan War, he returns home, where a confrontation with Clytemnestra awaits.

The performance features Greek and English subtitles.

Duration: 120 minutes

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