By Pia Stokes
Susquehanna’s Theatre Department put on Iphigenia and Other Daughters Friday, Nov. 11 in Degenstein Center Theater. Shows continued through the weekend on Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
This three-play cycle is a modern retelling of the fall of the House of Atreus, a family line from Greek Mythology. It follows the children of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, siblings who are both players and victims in the family tragedy. The play is centered around blood and punishment as well as familial obedience and traditions.
This play, written by Ellen McLaughlin, is bold and highly poetic. Each student who performed was clearly talented and passionate about their role. The play has a strong feminist perspective and uniformly ambitious female roles. The first act consists of Iphigenia and her mother, Clytemnestra, who tell the story of Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Aulis,” in which she is sacrificed by her father. Act two depicts the retelling of Sophocles’ “Electra.” The family dynamic becomes more clear as they all interact with each other. During the final act of this play, Iphigenia is surrounded by women in white dresses who killed the men that arrived at their temple.