Electra: an epic story filled with drama and huge emotions is contained to almost bursting energy in a small studio theatre. The intensity of the feelings seem as if they will erupt at any moment: the tension held leaves an electricity in the air. Electra is not for the faint hearted and Conor Baum’s impassioned vision infuses this classic Greek tragedy with a powerful punch.
We have to understand the different rules of living at the time to comprehend the emotional torment of the titular character, including the different ideas of right and wrong. Sacrifices to the Gods were acceptable, even the sacrifice of a son or daughter, and asking the Oracle for advice and acting on the advice given was perfectly within the law of the land, even when it inspired murderous revenge. So when Agamemnon sacrificed his own daughter to the Gods for fair winds in the Trojan War prior to the setting of this play, it was an act that was sanctioned by the Gods.
However when Clytemnestra killed her husband Agamemnon partly in revenge for murdering their daughter, this was not sanctioned by the Gods, this was seen as wrong and indefensible, so much so that Clytemnestra should die to pay for the deed. This is the backdrop against which the story of Electra is set, ten years after Agamemnon’s murder, with Electra still mourning and in torment over his loss and the subsequent ill treatment received by Clytemnestra and the new husband Aegisthus.
The cast are committed to their characters with a rare ferocity. Lexi Pickett as Electra has a relentless melancholy and a stoic commitment to mourning the loss of Agamemnon. This is not an easy character to play with a constant grieving, wrenching and spewing forth of hatred and grief that can be off-putting for audience sympathies, but Lexi Pickett pushes to the maximum emotion regardless, with Electra inspired single mindedness. The chorus of two: Ava Gypsy and Sharon Drain, are the most level headed and ordinary people that Electra meets and bring earthy realism to the impassioned story. Their reactions to what’s going on are a joy to watch: both in physicality and facial expressions.
Christine Kempell brings a sassy, sneer-filled and superior power to Clytemnestra and Jonathan Howlett has a powerful presence as Aegisthus immediately he appears, even in a minimal time on the stage: they make a self-serving and uncaring royal power couple. Ethan McHale brings a fragility and vulnerability to Orestes which gives the character an interesting depth. The combination of the portrayal of the characters is a fierceness and a hunger that permeates every aspect of the production.
Electra is an interesting play to stage and director Conor Baum has both stripped this back so it’s all about the raw energy of the acting, and, drawn out the relevance to now. The obvious mental health issues of someone single mindedly fixated on grief and despair is not lost on a modern audience, as Electra makes several references to being mad through years of having to live in the house with Agamemnon’s murderers, and there is an interesting juxtaposition with the sister’s behaviour of fawning to their parents, rather than rebelling: a behaviour choice which is as relevant today as it ever was. An intriguing and big show in an intimate space, it would translate well to a bigger setting.
BN1 Arts, Brighton 28 May 2025
Electra runs until 29 May 2025
Photos credit: Sam Cartwright
