The Oresteia 
Rating: ★★★★★
Venue: Bridge Theatre, London

The Oresteia is one of the theatre’s great foundational texts and it hasn’t lost any of its potency to this day. A family haunted by its part in an unjust war, the painful burden of inherited trauma and inter-generational conflict, the descent into an increasingly merciless vortex of violence: as long as humankind wages wars and as long as families tear themselves apart this story will remain painfully, cathartically relevant. It is with great excitement that we embark on bringing this tale into our times at the Bridge Theatre.

Currently at The Bridge Theatre until 19 September 2026, The Oresteia tells the story of the Middleton family throughout a ten-year span. From twin daughters’ Alice and Isabel’s 21st birthday in 2016, through to present day 2026. This edge-of-your-seat play will have your jaw dropping more times than one. After all, it’s almost like a ‘whodunnit’ with murders and death etched within.

Written and directed by Simon Stone, with set design by Lizzie Clachan, lighting by Nick Schlieper and casting by Jessica Ronane CDG, and produced by London Theatre Company and Wouter Van Ransbeek; this creative team took Aeschylus’ Greek tragedy trilogy from the 5th century and brought it into the modern world.

I went in to this knowing very little and I'm glad I did. I’m going to try to stay spoiler free as best as possible but consider yourself warned; there may be small spoilers ahead.

First off, Lizzie Clachan’s set. At what first appears as a simple family home, the way the design is and as the story unfolds, it becomes more than just a house. With the one setting throughout, it reminded me of The Lehman Trilogy set but packed with years of family trauma and guilt.

As mentioned the story follows the Middleton family. At first glance you would think this is just a standard, successful upper-class family but as the play unfolds you quickly realise this family is haunted by past traumas and quickly spiral into what I can only describe as deranged madness. The cast portrays this extremely well to the point that you as the audience member seem to be right there in the middle of it all. David Morrissey portrays Christopher, with Mary-Louise Parker portraying Montie. The chemistry and way David and Mary-Louise play off one another as husband and wife is unreal. Rosie Sheehy and Tom Glynn-Carney portraying Christopher and Montie’s children, Alice and Augie respectively, words cannot truly describe how extremely talented they both are. Rosie’s characterisation of Alice gives off an aura of a girl  that doesn't care and is pushed aside, but underneath you can feel the growing rage and resentment, and Rosie captivates that so beautifully and effortlessly.

Each character had their moments of a monologue but for me, both Mary-Louise Parker and Tom Glynn-Carney stood out. Mary-Louise takes you on a nostalgic trip through Montie’s life and as she is describing her journey to no-one in particular, as an audience member it's easy to visualise her thoughts and get a glimpse into her impaired state of mind. She not only cultivates the nostalgia, but also the anger that Montie carries from the loss of Isabel, and the breakdown of her marriage. It was a beautifully tragic performance. Tom Glynn-Carney’s Augie blossoms throughout the show. Tom really takes the viewer on Augie’s journey of where he stood amongst his siblings, and his time in the Army. It helps the audience to realise why Augie becomes this monster who does some truly unthinkable things. Tom Glynn-Carney plays this complexity so well that it's hard to know whether to hate him, or sympathise with him, because he's essentially just a child longing for love. An unmatched talent.

I could go on about how absolutely incredible this whole company and storyline was, but we would probably be here for a long while! So I will leave you with this, if you like Greek tragedy, a whodunnit, true crime, and dark story then you need to not walk, but run to book your ticket to see The Oresteia. You have until the 19 September 2026. It's not one to be missed.

You can book tickets to The Oresteia, here.

Review by Dani

**photo credit: Johan Persson**