KS4 KS5

In Search of Greek Theatre: Katie Mitchell's The Oresteia Part I (1999)

Drama Performing Arts Production Arts

Black and white photo of a person with braided hair, wearing a jacket, reading a book. A zoomed-in section of text is visible above them, suggesting they are illuminated by a light source, possibly spotlighted. The background is dark.

Overview

This film focuses on the 1999 production of The Oresteia, directed by Katie Mitchell.

Dr Lucy Jackson (Assistant Professor Greek Literature, Durham University) and Erin Lee (Head of Archive, National Theatre) take you on a virtual visit to the National Theatre Archive. The film follows their exploration and discovery of how the work of ancient Greek dramatists can be communicated effectively through performance.

Part of a collection of short films unpacking seminal National Theatre productions of Greek tragedy.

Learning outcomes

This film is designed to support students who are studying Greek drama as part of a Drama or Classics course at A Level or above.

Watch

Two men and five women wearing suits and hats and elasticated white material covering their entiire heads, stand on a bare floor with the projection of a page from a dictionary behind them.

Play Video

In Search of Greek Theatre #5: The Oresteia (1999)

Play Video:

In Search of Greek Theatre #5: The Oresteia (1999)

Production information

Cottesloe Theatre, 1999.

The Oresteia by Aeschylus; in a new version by Ted Hughes; directed by Katie Mitchell; design by Vicki Mortimer; lighting design by Nigel J. Edwards; movement direction by Struan Leslie; music by Melissa Holding & Joe Townsend; video design by Chris Pleydell.

Photo © Ivan Kyncl