China to present Greek classic to audiences

The National Theatre of China (NTC) announced on Thursday that it will be bringing the ancient Greek tragedy “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus to Beijing.

According to the NTC announcement, the play is being jointly produced with the National Theatre of Greece (NTG) and will take place  February 20 and March 2, 2019.

Aeschylus’s play tells the story of Agamemnon, King of Argos, who led the Greek army during the Trojan War but was subsequently murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, as revenge for Agamemnon’s earlier sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia.

Luo Tong, translator of the play, said that the bilingual drama that will be staged in China will endeavour to render the poetic references of the original more accessible to spectators.

The conversations on possible cooperation and exchanges between the two national theatres begun two years ago, while a bilingual co-production of "The Orphan of Zao", a play based on a traditional Chinese tragedy, was staged last year at the National Theatre in Athens.

Artistic director of the Greek National Theatre and director of the play Stathis Livathinos described the experience as an excellent exchange between the two theatres.

*Image courtesy of Patroklos Skafidas