Translating and Directing the Oresteia of Aeschylus

Abstract

The consensus is among theater people that to translate and direct Aeschylean drama for a modern audience is a major task and even more so is the task of translating and directing the Oresteia. The Classics Department of the University of Canterbury undertook this task when I translated and directed the Oresteia for the Christchurch stage in New Zealand. The article discusses the directorial choices made in terms of compressing this epic drama into a smaller theater space, especially in handling in an effective way the parodos and first stasimon of the Agamemnon.