Illustration of an Agamemnon at Cambridge, from The Graphic Magazine 1900

Agamemnon, a performance history

Agamemnon, a performance history is the APGRD's second interactive/multimedia eBook. The eBook draws on a unique collection of archival material and research at the APGRD and beyond; it uses images, film, bespoke interviews with creative practitioners and academics, and digital objects to explore the reception history of Aeschylus' tragedy.

This eBook was published in three instalments, allowing us to maximise the digital material we can include in each volume.

DOWNLOAD the iBook (for Apple devices):

Agamemnon, a performance history: Beginnings & Whose Play? - Beginnings: focussing on the opening scene of the tragedy, this chapter explores how the play has been linked to 'origins' or 'beginnings’. Aeschylus is seen as the 'father of tragedy’ and Agamemnon is the first play in a trilogy that has often been staged at the founding of dramatic festivals and institutions round the world. Whose Play? asks who is the main character in Aeschylus’ tragedy and shows how Agamemnon himself has rarely been the dominant focus of his name-play. Instead, it is Clytemnestra who controls events and who has fascinated playwrights and audiences across millennia.

Agamemnon, a performance history: Homecoming & Lyric - Homecoming asks what kind of character is Agamemnon? How has his masculinity been understood at different times and in different places? How easy is homecoming for soldiers after a war? Lyric: focuses on the enslaved Trojan Priestess, Cassandra and the Chorus of old men from Argos, who both have a central role in this play and yet have little or no power to make things happen. The Choral Odes and Cassandra's prophetic song have proved both a challenge and a cue for enormous creativity in many modern productions and versions.

Agamemnon, a performance history: Endings & Iconography: Endings considers what it has meant to stage Agamemnon as a single play, when it is itself only the first play in a trilogy. Is there closure? How effective is this as a stand-alone play? Just as the opening scene of the tragedy has resonated across time and place, so too has the final scene of violence and political insurrection. Iconography looks at the strong iconographic tradition surrounding this play - from Agamemnon's chariot to the bath in which he is murdered, the carpet of tapestries to Clytemnestra's axe. The chapter revolves around a photographic gallery showcasing how modern productions have tackled these iconic moments.

*EPUB versions for devices other than Apple will follow.

See also: Medea, a performance history for the download links to our first interactive/multimedia ebook.

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