Elektra
a modern, one-woman adaptation of a Sophoclean tragedy– written, directed, and painted by Faith Hart. the project was conceptualized and developed in residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm in the summer of 2019, then mounted as part of The Theatre School at DePaul University’s Prototypes: Festival of Student Work.
Poster art for Elektra, featuring Abigail Hendricks
director’s note:
Sophocles set the story.
Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia at Aulis.
in his absence, Clytemnestra wed Aesgisthus.
upon his return, they killed Agamemnon in cold blood.
Sophocles’ classic Elektra tells a tale reeling with rage, passion, and the struggle to preserve honor in a world where violence reigns. this adaptation zooms in and invites you into the body, soul, and psyche of Elektra as she mourns the brutal murder of her father, Agamemnon.
ancient Greek funeral rites called for close female relatives of the deceased to wail loudly, beat their bodies, and rip hair from their heads. then, there would be a pouring of libations– water, milk, honey. to be alone with Elektra is to know the violence of loss and to know the sweetness of honey. It is to be washed in a hurricane of feeling– disorienting and deeply intimate. I have loved this time with her, been changed by her relentlessness and sincerity. I believe she has lessons to teach us, lessons more important today than ever before. like Elektra, I know what it’s like to live in a world where injustice abounds and morality appears to be turned upside-down. we all do. unlike Elektra, I find myself shutting down and putting on my blinders to make it through the day. Elektra believes in justice so fervently, feels love so boundlessly, and grieves so fiercely that it ravages her physical body. what would our world look like if we fought as hard as Elektra for justice? the answer isn’t simple and she hasn’t figured it out. “I am a beast, but I am human. I’m trying to do it right.” how do we do it right?