BA (Hons) Acting Festival

Students from across this year’s graduating BA Acting class presented a range of multi-disciplinary responses to Aeschylus’ Oresteia. This Restless House rewrites the ancient drama from a contemporary perspective, placing women at the centre of the story. The Furies is a devised interpretation of The Kindly Ones, the third play in the Oresteia trilogy. Students also premiered three short films: Funeral, Erika and Trench. The Festival took place at Norwich Theatre Stage Two.

This Restless House

Aeschylus’ Oresteia opens with Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to the gods; an act which sets in motion a bloody cycle of revenge and counter-revenge. Electra, who as a young child witnesses her father’s murder, is compelled to take justice into her own hands.

Cast

• Rachel Alexander Mucha
• Samuel Bankola Etta Tommy
• Jason Boateng
• Callie Boon
• Olivia Henty
• Marissa Jayne
• Ethan James
• Zena Rani Jora
• Emalie Randall
• Byron Lewis
• Ansu Njai
• Chris Panks
• Amelia Stephanides
• Bethany Tara-Louise
• Lydia Tuplin
• Rachel Woolner

Directed by Matti Houghton
Written by Zinnie Harris

The Furies

A collaborative re-imagining of Aeschylus’ third play of the Oresteia trilogy, The Kindly Ones. The Furies scrutinises traditional gender power dynamics and generational trauma.

Acting Furies

Devised and performed by:

• Oyindasola Asafa
• Wiktoria Bialek
• Daniella Clarke
• Aoife Harrington-Tolfrey
• Reuben Lane
• Reece Lee
• Cordelia Majgaard
• Aidan Miller
• Catalina Rose McKenna
• Lewis Scantlebury
• Sonay Sevgum
• Will Swan
• Abi Tacon
• Caitlin Woodward

Director: Adina Levay
Dramaturg: Richard Bracewell

Photography: Andi Sapey

Prelude: Short Films

Erika – dir. Sophie Stagg

Written and directed by actor/director Sophie Stagg, Erika tells the true story of Sophie’s grandmother, Erika Algermissen. Struggling to survive in the Nazi regime, Erika finds herself in a dangerous situation when she befriends a Russian prisoner of war.

Trench – dir. Alexander Glenn

Directed by actor/composer Alexander Glenn, Trench tells the story of Oresteia’s Electra. Pulled out of time and judged by a strange figure, Electra must defend her life and privileges whilst being confronted by the horrors of her past.

Funeral – dir. James Eager

An interpretation of rebellion and longing for freedom from actor/musician James Eager. Funeral is a retelling of the story of Electra and Orestes, exploring how they coped with their isolation. The film is built around Eager’s original song ‘Funeral’, which focuses on bereavement and how he has coped with it.