A Classic Greek Tragedy Re-Worked for A Millennial Audience

What is the cost of a woman’s success when it comes at the expense of her family? Agamemnon is about to find out. Featuring a creative team that boasts some of Sydney’s best and brightest emerging talent, CHORUS by Ang Collins (Blueberry Play) will have its World Premiere.

Directed by Clemence Williams (Unfinished Works) and produced by Bontom (Chamber Pot Opera), CHORUS takes the age-old myth of Agamemnon and transplants it to contemporary Sydney. CHORUS is about the unending pressures on women to conform to certain roles—and the potentially tragic results when they break that mould.

In this new version of Aeschylus’s classic Greek tragedy, Agamemnon is a pop icon just returned home from her nine-month, round-the-world concert tour. Rolling Stone described her as “like the second coming of Christ—if Christ was a crew-cut, queer, hot, vocal-virtuoso”. Agamemnon has returned home to take care of unfinished business: dump her former partner Chris, grab her stuff and make off with her new flame, Kass. But Chris has other ideas for their first night together in nine months, and was hoping for a kind of reconciliation—and at least the chance to process the unresolved grief he holds for the death of their son, Gene, less than a year ago. Suddenly, memories that Agamemnon has tried so hard to keep buried begin to surface so vividly she could die. And she very well might. This original Australian work is partially told by a lively chorus, and the script oozes with Australian authenticity.

Playing the lead role of Agamemnon, Ella Prince (A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing) has been channelling the work of gender-bending artists like David Bowie and Christine and The Queen. “It’s such an amazing opportunity to play such a unique and powerful role, written especially for this time in history. The work feels important and I think audiences are going to love it.” she said.