IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT Comes to New Ghosts Theatre Company Next Month

In March 2025, New Ghosts Theatre Company (NGTC) will present a return season of their 2020 production of Gary Owen’s IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT at the Old Fitz Theatre. Staged by a women-led team, the season marks NGTC’s first production in their second year as custodians of the iconic basement theatre in Woolloomooloo, and builds on a stellar track-record of exceptional work. 

IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT – Iphigenia referencing the enduring myth and Splott a district in the south of Wales’ capital – brings Greek tragedy to Cardiff and drives home the high price people pay for society’s shortcomings. 

The story of Iphigenia, daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, is thought to have first taken shape in the 8th century BCE. Owen cleverly draws inspiration from this timeless tale of sacrifice – the sacrifice of an innocent woman at the hands of her father to appease and win back the favour of the Gods. Accounts of the myth diverge on whether Iphigenia (whose name means "born to strength") made the sacrifice willingly, but the prevailing interpretation holds that she did, in fact, consent to her fate, believing her death would be for the greater good of the Greeks. 

In IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT, Owen transplants this story into our modern world and the resonance is startling. What results is a searing and unflinching exploration of a deeply entrenched classist society, exposing the profound inequality and systemic injustice it perpetuates. The narrative is a raw portrayal of powerlessness within an overburdened system, where individuals are crushed by the weight of societal flaws and institutional failures.

Stumbling down Clifton Street at 11:30am drunk, Effie is the kind of girl you’d avoid eye contact with, silently passing judgement. We think we know her, but we don’t know the half of it. Effie’s life spirals through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night, and a hangover worse than death the next day – till one night gives her the chance to be something more.

The solo work is to be brought to life by Meg Clarke, Australia’s debut Effie whose “tour-de-force” performance in New Ghosts’ 2020 Australian premiere production received rave reviews. Despite having relocated to the UK, Clarke’s connection and commitment to the role is so strong that she is making the journey halfway across the world and returning to Sydney for the season, and audiences couldn’t be more fortunate. 

“Yma o Hyd: I can’t really put into words what it means to me to come back to this role after moving to the UK, visiting Cymru/Wales, my ancestors, walking the cliffs of Gower, partying in the streets of Cardiff, standing with 70,000 Cymry singing the national Anthem, hunting through the streets of Splott, but I’ll try. Five years ago, this play gave me strength and insight into myself, now I want to give this play to you; as a battle cry. Rhyddhawch y ddraig” – Meg Clarke (Performer)

The production will be directed by the Old Fitz Theatre's current Artistic Director and founder of NGTC, the award-winning Lucy Clements. Clements is best known for her Sydney Theatre Award winning production of Mike Bartlett’s Albion, and for leading the charge on the representation of women in theatre via NGTC’s innovative IGNITE Collective which, since its inception, has generated 30 new roles for young women performers.

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