The Oresteia

Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Furies

By: Aeschylus

Narrated by: Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Will Howard, Joanne Froggatt, full cast, Niamh Cusack

The classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, as heard on BBC Radio 3 – plus a bonus documentary exploring Aeschylus's seminal Greek tragedy

A chilling tale of homecoming, violent death and bloody vengeance, The Oresteia dates back to the 5th Century BC, but its themes still resonate today. At once a family saga, morality tale and courtroom drama, it recounts how two generations of the cursed House of Atreus become locked into a deadly cycle of atrocities. To break the chain, their private vendetta must become public, as questions of guilt and justification are decided in the first ever homicide trial…

Agamemnon

The Trojan War is over, and conquering hero Agamemnon arrives home to Argos. But victory came at an appalling price – the sacrifice of his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. Now, his wife Clytemnestra is determined to take a grisly revenge …

The Libation Bearers

Returning from exile, Agamemnon's son Orestes vows to avenge his father’s death by murdering his killer, his own mother Clytemnestra. But where can he find the strength to carry out such a horrific deed?

The Furies

Having committed matricide, Orestes flees to Delphi. But the remorseless Furies, ancient deities of vengeance, are on his trail and baying for blood. Can the young gods Apollo and Athena save him from a terrible fate?Adapted by three of Britain’s most imaginative writers, Simon Scardifield, Ed Hime and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, these contemporary versions of Aeschylus’s trilogy are atmospheric, fast-moving and superbly accessible. The star casts include Lesley Sharp as Clytemnestra, Hugo Speer as Agamemnon and Will Howard as Orestes.

Each of the plays is introduced by Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at Kings College London.

Also featured is an episode of In Our Time, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how The Oresteia has fired the modern imagination, inspiring artists ranging from Richard Wagner to T. S. Eliot.

Written by Aeschylus

Agamemnon
The Chorus – Arthur Hughes, Philip Jackson and Carolyn Pickles
Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp
Agamemnon – Hugo Speer
Cassandra – Anamaria Marinca
Calchas – Karl Johnson
Aegisthus – Sean Murray
Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller
Herald – John Norton
Guards – Steve Toussaint and Harry Jardine
Adapted by Simon Scardifield
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko
BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley
Singer: Adriana Festeu
Sound design by Colin Guthrie
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 12 January 2014

The Libation Bearers
Orestes – Will Howard
Electra – Joanne Froggatt
Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp
The Chorus – Sheila Reid, Amanda Lawrence and Carys Eleri
Aegisthus – Sean Murray
Cilissa – Carolyn Pickles
Pylades – Joel MacCormack
Servants – David Seddon and John Norton
Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller
Adapted by Ed Hime
Directed by Marc Beeby
BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley
Singer: Adriana Festeu
Sound design by Cal Knightley and Colin Guthrie
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 19 January 2014

The Furies
Narrator – Niamh Cusack
Alecto – Polly Hemingway
Megaera – Maureen Beattie
Tisiphone – Carolyn Pickles
Orestes – Will Howard
Athena – Chipo Chung
Apollo – Joel MacCormack
Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp
The Pythia – Priyanga Burford
Girl – Carys Eleri
Judge – Sean Murray
Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko
BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley
Sound design by Colin Guthrie
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 January 2014

In Our Time
Presented by Melyvn Bragg
With Edith Hall, then Professor of Greek Cultural History at Durham University; Simon Goldhill, Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge; Tom Healy, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London
Produced by Charlie Taylor
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 2005

©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Arrogant "Improvement" of Aeschylus

This erased one of the great openings in the history of theater. But this production eliminated it. The arrogance is astonishing. This isn't Aeschylus, it's just the BBC.

absolutely beautiful

I could listen again and again, I felt as though I was listening to the original performance in an athenian aptheater.

very good

a wonderful adaptation with an explanatory introduction and symposium postscript. Highly recommended as an introduction to Aeschylus.

Wonderful plays, distracting accents

This is well worth a listen, but the thick northern English and Northern Irish accents sometimes seem almost comical in the context of antiquity. Stay for the conversation at the very end with Melvyn Bragg – it adds a lot to the experience.

Three adaptations, three writers

In case you missed it in the description, this is not Aeschylus’ text. The plays are three adaptations by three different writers. Agamemnon is quite good, Libation Bearers is pretty good, Eumenides is not so good. But overall, it is worth the credit.

Made me think of your work about blood revenge

Polly,
This remarkable play left me thinking of your work and ideas about restorative justice and ending cycles of violence
Love
,Sarah

You SHOULD be ashamed

You destroyed the prose
because you don't understand it
You dramatize profundity
This is nothing like the text