Guest Blog: John Ward On ELECTRA At The Bunker

DumbWise's adaptation of Electra has been five years in the making (and counting!). One of the questions I remember being asked early on in its genesis was "Why now?".

It's a question I had struggled with, not because It wasn't vitally important, but because I'm always preoccupied initially with the energy, attitude and atmosphere of a story - the panoramic thinking comes much later for me.

But one of the benefits of a long writing process is that, whilst its alive in your mind, the world we live in flies around you and things start sticking. On the surface, Electra's murderous vendetta is very domestic, but she represents a rage against the establishment.

Everywhere you look, people are angry - a global attitude! Whether it's austerity politics, police brutality, dangerous protest voting, corruption or misinformation, the relationship between governing politics and the people is restless.

Electra chimes loudly with the (not as modern as we'd like to think) concepts of fake news, spin and the disorientating changing of political narratives. What Greek plays have in abundance are contradictory justifications for unspeakable acts that test the audience's morality and empathy to the nth degree. But, ultimately, the play swings hard at the themes of power and justice - and those will never cease to be relevant!

One of the main components of our adaptation is the setting of the action during a seething revolution, which sparks a conflict in the play between the very personal injustice that drives Electra and the political grievances of the 'people' as a whole. This throws up fascinating questions about what drives people to direct, fearless and dangerous action, and, in a world where one person can cause so much damage, the role of the individual within a large and complex movement or ideology.

This aspect of the adaptation was inspired by a wave of global unrest, ranging from the Arab Spring to the affect of the economic crash on Europe's next generation. We were particularly influenced by what appeared to be a plethora of 'youthful movements', which resonated for me with the central action of Electra, where children are left to struggle against the world left to them by their parents.

However modern the references and refractions, and however relevant the context, it is the primal and atavistic energy of the characters and their actions which must take centre stage - and it's what makes these stories so electrifying.

At its heart Electra is a revenge thriller, with enigmatic villains and razor-sharp feuds; like Shakespeare's cast of wordsmiths, these Greek characters live and die by their words, so language is a weapon. But let's not forget the actual blood-curdling violence (which we have brought on stage - look out for that!).

The clash of ancient and modern is a rich battle when reinventing or reimagining old stories for a potentially new audience. I think the Greek plays will always swing in and out of popular theatre because they exist in their own powerful universe, which, on the one hand is frighteningly familiar, and on the other evocatively foreign; where the rules are different, the world more vivid and unlimitedly theatrical.

It is this fierce, ancient energy in Electra, typified by the play's antiheroine, which has inspired our 'punk rock' adaptation. But the articulation of this production as such is as much a comment on the writing style, character attitudes and action of the play as it is about a genre of music.

Yes, there will be loud guitars and drums (as well as many other instruments and textures), but punk, for me, is an attitude, an energy, a stance, an anger. The writing favours a punchy, rhythmic verse style over long rhetoric, and shorter, sharper scenes that chop and change cinematically. Action wins over exposition as the story is hurled towards its conclusion by its vindictive and obsessive protagonists.

Yes, Greek plays have a baggage of being dusty, long and boring, but when brought to life they should be anything but. When I think of Electra I see a graphic novel with blood splattering over a double-page spread. I see royalty being assassinated by self-appointed demigods. I see immersive, no-holds-barred, direct-address theatre. Well, that's the idea anyway...

Electra at The Bunker 27 February-24 March

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