Elektra

Review by Sam

⭐️

Brie Larson stars in Anne Carson’s translation of Sophokles’ Greek tragedy. But is the show itself a tragedy or did it leave me marvel-ed?

Following her father’s assassination and the return of her long- lost brother, Elektra plots a plan of vengeance to bring mercy to all those that have wronged her. If this plot description sounds much vaguer than my normal synopsis’, then I can only apologise, as this was what I deemed the plot to be after much research following the show. The reason for this, is the play is sadly so confusing that I struggled to understand the plot over the course of it’s seemingly shorty 75 minute runtime.

Daniel Fish is know to many as a divisive director, most recently for his critically-acclaimed yet polarising production of Oklahoma. He often utilises the idea of minimalism and interpretation to tell stories, but with this recent body of work I fear he may have gone a step too far. Elektra feels as though Fish has taken the interpretive meaning to another level, stripping so much of the bones of the play away, that what’s left is a mismatched mess of a production.

Unfortunately not a single creative element worked for me, as lighting, props, costuming, and script all felt as though they had been made with their own single artistic vision in mind. As a result there are sadly too many conflicting decisions which offer little to no insight into the plot or character development. Audiences are therefore left baffled by the inclusion of seemingly random elements, such as a blimp floating above the stage never to be addressed, characters singing the word NO consistently, the inclusion of a Beyonce song and dance, and a crucified doll of Mickey Mouse which sits at the rear of the stage throughout.

To no fault of the actors on stage, who admittedly perform powerfully with the material and direction they are given, sadly this production needs so much development and work done to make it worthy of a stage. Would I recommend this show? In the words of Elektra herself screaming into a microphone… “NOOO”!