Sydney Theatre Company Presents ORESTEIA 1 June to 4 July

A highlight of Sydney Theatre Company's 2010 Main Stage Season, Oresteia, features the Company's permanent ensemble of actors, The Residents, in an adaptation based principally on the first two plays (Agamemnon and The Libation Bearers) of Aeschylus' 5th Century BC trilogy, condensed into one incisive drama. Directed by Associate Director Tom Wright, the production is at The Wharf from 1 June, opening 5 June 2010. A curse has befallen the House of Atreus as deeds of the past reverberate in the present with horrifying results. When a triumphant Agamemnon (Tahki Saul) returns from the Trojan war with a beautiful foreign princess, Cassandra (Julia Ohannessian), the sweet smiles of his wife Clytemnestra (Zindzi Okenyo) conceal a dark rage. A terrible revenge is to be exacted on the man who, in order to win the war, had brutally sacrificed his daughter.

In turn, Orestes (Brett Stiller), urged on by his sister Electra (Sophie Ross), must avenge the crime of their mother and her lover, Agamemnon's cousin Aegisthus (Richard Pyros). As this cycle of retribution perpetuates chaos, the god Apollo (Cameron Goodall) arrives to assert order to the broken society, observed and commented on at every step by a Chorus comprised of the young women of Argos (including Ursula Mills and Alice Ansara).

Oresteia follows Tom Wright's acclaimed adaptations of ancient classics including his Sydney Theatre Company collaborations with Barrie Kosky for The Women of Troy and The Lost Echo. The creative team also includes Sydney Theatre Company Resident Designer Alice Babidge (set and costumes), lighting designer Damien Cooper and Composer and Sound Designer Max Lyandvert.

The Residents came together in June 2009 and occupy a central role in the day-to-day operations of Sydney Theatre Company across all aspects of the Company's creative output. As well as occasional Main Stage shows including last year's The Mysteries, they also work within the Company's Next Stage, Back Stage and Education streams, moving regularly between these different areas with a particular emphasis on developing new work.

Box Office: 9250 1777 or www.sydneytheatre.com.au
Tickets: $30 - $75 (transaction fees may apply)

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