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Brie Larson To Star As Elektra In 2025

Brie Larson is to play Elektra in a new production of the same name next year based on the Greek tragedy written by Sophocles.

Published Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:43:07 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Brie Larson to star as Elektra in new adaptation of Sophocles' Greek tragedy in 2025.
Directed by Daniel Fish with adaptation by poet Anne Carson, known for her 1987 translation.
Production to run one week in Brighton and eleven weeks at London’s Duke of York’s theatre.
Tickets go on sale October 2nd; first major London Elektra since Kristin Scott Thomas' portrayal.

Brie Larson is to play Elektra in a new production of the same name next year. Originally a Greek tragedy written by playwright Sophocles in the 5th century BC, it has been revived and updated many times since. Set in the city of Argos a few years after the Trojan War, the play tells of a bitter struggle for justice by Elektra – or Electra – and her brother Orestes for the murder of their father Agamemnon by Clytemnestra and their stepfather Aegisthus.

"Elektra, haunted by her father's assassination, is consumed by grief; a need for survival; and a thirst for vengeance. When her long lost brother Orestes at last returns, she urges him to a savage and terrifying conclusion but at what cost?"

The new adaptation by poet Anne Carson and directed by Daniel Fish will star Brie Larson as Elektra and will run for a week in Brighton before moving to the West End for a further eleven weeks. This will be the first major London version of the play since Kristin Scott Thomas took the role in Frank McGuinness' adaptation at the Old Vic theatre ten years ago.

In a statement, Brie Larson, known for film roles such as Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim and as Captain Marvel in Captain Marvel, Avengers Endgame and The Marvels, said, "I couldn't be more excited to perform in this Greek drama, or in better company collaborating with Daniel Fish and Anne Carson. Storytelling has always been the way I organise life, feelings and experiences."

Anne Carson's translation of the play was written in 1987, and was published in 2001. Daniel Fish states that it "explodes the question… what is ancient and what is contemporary. He is best known for his staging of Oklahoma! in New York which won a Tony Award in 2019 and was then later performed in London.

Elektra will be staged at the Theatre Royal Brighton from the 13th to the 18th January and then eleven weeks at the Duke of York's theatre in London from the 24th of January. Tickets will go on sale from the 2nd of October. Elektra is produced by Empire Street Productions, who recently staged Slave Play and Prima Facie in London.

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