How Does Rickson Create Tension In Electra

On the 7th of October we went to see ‘Electra’, which is a Greek play, being performed at The Old Vic theatre in London. This was directed by Ian Rickson and the story was about grief-stricken Electra who plots to avenge her dead father. The play was suffused with the idea of grieving and aimed to explore trauma, taking into account how humans deal with loss. Ian Rickson wanted to show how much Electra had changed because of this grief which was burdening her. He used anger and explored how the suppression of this can affect other aspects of her life. So he made Electra an epitome of how anger and grief can affect our choices and decisions, creating a symbolic representation of how these emotions can affect our everyday lives.

Kristin Scott
She used levels and stylised, unpredictable movements to convey her disdain for her Mother and her descent into insanity, due to this anger which compelled her. Electra’s immature, idealistic attitude, presented through Scott Thomas’s explosive yet unsettling voice, showed that her mourning had gone past the point of simple grievance, but had transformed into an all-consuming passion for justice. Ian Rickson was suggesting, through her character, the effect that labouring over emotions can have on the human mind. He presented Electra in a child-like way to suggest how her unconditional affection for her deceased father has stalled her in an adolescent stage of
The barren tree was devoid of branches, which symbolised how the root of the family, which is Agamemnon, had been cut off in his prime and is now dead. The foreboding, blank double-doors stood closed, imposing a menacing atmosphere throughout the stage, signifying segregation between Electra and the rest of her family. It showed how distant she was from them but also suggested a shadow of doubt amongst the audience that something bad would eventually happen. Moreover, when the giant doors were eventually opened it implied that this big secret is now suddenly known. The archaic, Grecian-style pillar gave a sense of Greek authenticity, but the fact that it was falling apart suggested destruction, which was symbolic of their dysfunctional family. It was an ‘in the round’ stage, which provided a sense of entrapment and intimacy. It indicated how Electra was confined to this anger, dictating what she does. It was like the audience was observing what was going on, rather than the actors directing it solely towards them. All of these things create an authentic Greek feel about the stage, but Rickson had also used them to symbolise some of the key themes surrounding the play, which is why he has used the stage and set to further emphasise what they are, creating a more impounding effect on the