Electra Old Vic Review

Electra Old Vic Review

When we went to go and watch the performance of Electra, we had briefly had a look at college at the plot and themes, so my understanding wasn't that great of the play. However once we went to watch the play afterwards I totally understood what was going on as i visually had it in front of me going on and I was able to understand what was happening. Although I didn't always understand the language I had a good understanding of the gist and themes of what was going on.
I liked how they tried to keep to the original essence of in the round which is the same as how theaters would have been in the Greek times originally so i liked how they tried to keep to that.
The scenery was the same throughout so there were no set changes which I thought was good because the play didn't need set changes as it would have taken away the essence of the play and the whole time it was all set outside of the house anyways so there was no need for scene changes. Looking in Greek terms of theatre the door/entrance to the house was what would have been a skene (Although it was a more restricted amount of space).
There was soft sand on the floor which reflected natural surroundings of Greece, the stones which were also part of the set were also a capturing essence of neutral colours.
A tree was on stage and part of the set which was used for levels as Electra pinned a picture of her father up on the tree, she also sat higher up on the tree which then made the play have an interesting dimension. There was a tap on stage that poured actual water which i feel really showed the real desperation and survival of Electra. The way that Electra looked was that she was very ragged and dirty and had a look about her that seemed that she didn't go inside. It was good the way that the stage and the set was on stage because the set designer would have had to consider sight lines to make sure that everyone in the round in the seating would be able to see from where they are sitting enabling no pieces of set are blocking the audiences view.
The chorus members in the play created interest and an extra dimension to the play however I was surprised there was no use of dancing and singing as originally in the Greek era it was traditionally used.
A downfall possibly was that there was incidental comedy which sometimes could take away from the tragic essence of the Greek Tragedy.
When Electra was given the ashes of her brother I felt that she din't really have that alone moment with them to come to terms with it, it was all a bit rushed that section which is when the story is starting to get exciting and reveal the secret that Orestes is actually alive. I thought that Electra's relationship with her sister was believable and was a good bond, however I did think that the relationship between her and Orestes when he tells Electra who he is, it was more like he was a lover the way she was with him rather than siblings. 
Even though Kristen Scott- Thomas being older - around 50+ playing Electra she didn't look too bad against the rest of the cast as she is quite a petite lady however her voice was very mature sounding which gave her age away. It was a bit bizarre that Scott-Thomas is the same age as the lady that played the mother but I do feel she did very well. And in comparison to the person who played Orestes he looked like he had just come out of drama school and  Scott-Thomas looked more like a mother however due to her petite size and her costuming it wasn't too obvious. 
Costume wise the mum and sister where in regal and royal colours - red and blue which showed off their wealth. Electra was in dirty white and a baggy dress which was very dirty which gave a homeless look about her. The chorus were all in black and they were like the narrators of the story. 
The lighting throughout was natural all the lighting was high so 360 degrees lighting.
The play looked upon the idea of an eye for an eye in the sense that son was to seek revenge and kill the father.
When Clytemnestra died there was no visual happening of the death however you just saw the aftermath. They could have played on the death a bit more, however it can be difficult to show a death realistically, so they did do it in the correct way however the screams were a bit pathetic and could have been better and she could have sounded more scared that she was about to die. I felt that the play took a while to get going and Electra had way too many monologues and then when it came to the ending it went too fast, If i was the director I would have maximized the death and have made the play more pacy by cutting some monologues and getting to the plot quicker. 
Overall I did enjoy the play as it gave me a better understanding of the play when it came to us doing it and although I had my own criticisms for it everyone has their own personal opinions but after watching it i could definitely say i knew the plot and story much better after watching it live.

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[Accessed: 06/01.15]