Aeschylus’ Persians – The Happy Days

Following a dream that foreshadows disasters for her son, Queen Atossa of Persia is informed that the Persian army has been destroyed. Emerging from the underworld, her dead husband, Darius, explains the reasons that led to the defeat and urges them to stop the attacks against the Greeks.

In this new production, Aeschylus’ ancient drama converses with Samuel Beckett’s play, Happy Days. The performance draws upon Beckett’s masterful conception, creating a striking spectacle that employs Aeschylus’ poetry intact. The Queen of Persia, immobilized by the weight of her memories, gradually immerses herself in the burden of tragic past events. Sitting next to her, her deceased companion reads the devastating news in the newspaper.

This new piece reminds us that our past cannot be cut off from our future; they both co-exist intact within our present.