Reinterpreting the Greek Tragedy 'Elektra' with a Focus on Human Desire

Theater Tteatre Bomnal to Perform "Electra" Until the 20th

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The fate of Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the Greek army that won the Trojan War, was tragic.

Before departing for the Trojan War, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to appease the wrath of the goddess Artemis. His wife Clytemnestra was enraged. Eventually, after Agamemnon returned to the kingdom of Mycenae, he was murdered at a banquet arranged by Clytemnestra. The tragedy continued as Clytemnestra was killed by her son Orestes and daughter Electra.

The three great Greek tragedians dealt with this story: Aeschylus in "The Libation Bearers," and both Sophocles and Euripides left works titled "Electra."

The theater troupe Th??tre Bomnal is reinterpreting Sophocles' and Euripides' "Electra" and performing it at the Traveler Theater in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, until the 20th.

"Electra" is a work that contemplates the conflict between the mother Clytemnestra, who killed her husband after sacrificing their child, and the daughter Electra, who avenged her father Agamemnon by killing her mother, questioning whether their actions were right. However, Th??tre Bomnal focuses not on right or wrong but on human desire. The play centers on revealing the depths of human nature through desire. The troupe explains, "This is a psycho-realism (PSYCHO-REALISM) play that starkly and aggressively probes the characters' 'narcissistic desires' beneath their 'surface statements,' rather than their outward expressions."

The characters in the play act solely to achieve their own goals. Like the deaf, they ignore others' opinions and live looking only forward. Through this, the play clearly reveals the inner desires of humans striving to fulfill their wishes. Electra refutes all conversations from her perspective, not only with her mother Clytemnestra but also with her younger sister Chrysothemis, with whom she does not have a deep emotional rift. Whenever a character encounters someone with even a slightly opposing opinion, their desires and inner selves are revealed without filter.

The play "Electra" is a new-concept musical drama reinterpreting a classic as part of the Korea Arts Council's mid- to long-term project artistic goal of "vocal theater." Director Suin Lee previously reinterpreted classical tragedies such as "Oedipus" (2015) and "Antigone" (2017) from a new perspective.

Th??tre Bomnal stated that for this performance, they strictly followed quarantine rules such as temperature checks during rehearsals and disinfecting the rehearsal room, and prepared a safe face-to-face performance by securing distance between the audience and stage and separating the flow of actors and audience.