Oresteia @ C

Adapting and updating Greek tragedy is always a tough task, especially when it comes to Aeschylus’s trilogy of a fractured family’s bloodbath of revenge. The risk of falling into gimmick territory is high, but CUADC’s reimagining manages to pull off a great number of feats; not only does Alex MacKeith’s adaptation pull off the setting switch to modern day Vegas while retaining a faithfulness to the source material, but it adds a hell of a lot more laughs along the way. From the moment you enter the room to the thumping music of Jay Z and Kanye West, you know this isn’t the Greek tragedy of your studies.

In the noir world of corrupt casino kingpins, Agamemnon finds himself on parole after a decade in jail for tax evasion. Hungry for revenge for his arrest, he brings down Troy, a rival casino, and then the real trouble starts. Here, Clytemnestra is a furious matriarch seeking vengeance for her husband’s murder of their daughter and their son Orestes is a dim-witted wannabe kung-fu master goaded into seeking his own revenge by his whip-smart but cynical gamer sister Elektra (think Daria Morgendorffer with a love for video game violence). Rounding off the cast are the odd couple watchmen and a nameless resident of the casino referred to only as Chorus Leader (get it?).

While erratically paced and unequally divided in terms of adapting the entire trilogy (Agamemnon takes up most of the hour while the remaining parts are rushed), CUADC have created a fine example of the creative heights that can be reached through the art of adaptation. With not a weak link in the cast (stand out performances go to an amusingly droll Elektra, an exasperated Chorus Leader and a too thick to live Orestes) and some hilarious yet fitting takes on the material, Oresteia is not one for traditionalists but it’s immensely entertaining and cleverer than you think.