This Restless House

THIS RESTLESS HOUSE PART 1: AGAMEMNON’S RETURN

A father’s horrifying sacrifice of his daughter sets in motion a cycle of bloody revenge and counter-revenge. As his family rots from the inside as a result of his brutal act, the loyalties of his surviving children are tested to the extreme.

An equally fragmented society outwith the family home is hungry for justice, but is faced with a moral dilemma that tests the limits of a culture on the edge of revolution.

THIS RESTLESS HOUSE PART 2 and 3: THE BOUGH BREAKS and ELECTRA AND HER SHADOW

Electra’s father, brother and sister are all dead or missing, and her beloved mother is inert with grief. A familiar stranger opens her eyes to the truth behind her family’s past, forcing Electra to come face to face with their parents’ hideous flaws and driving her to an unthinkable act.

With a chain of reprisals to resolve, justice can no longer be found within a family’s feud. A fledgling society in a delicate democracy is tasked with finding righteousness in the tangle of criminal acts, questioning whether one life can ever be weighed against another.

This Restless House, based on the epic Greek trilogy The Oresteia, is a theatrical and accessible new way to delve in to an ancient drama that exposes the cracks in democracy and the fragility and evolution of a family’s bonds. A tragic saga that has survived two and a half thousand years is brought into sharp focus in a trilogy of new plays by Zinnie Harris.

The critical consensus

Starts with a terrific boom it concludes in a disappointing pop.

(*) (*) Michael Cox, Across the Arts, 03/05/2016

The brutal mess of flesh and blood anguish conjured up by Harris, Hill and their unhinged ten-strong ensemble is both blessing and curse in this most fearless of reinventions.

(*) Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 01/05/2016

A startlingly bold, inventive, and heartfelt production.

(*) Paul F Cockburn, Broadway Baby, 03/05/2016

Harris's trail-blazing 21st century adaptation.

Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman, 02/05/2016

A production of depth, ambition and creepy power.

Mark Fisher, The Guardian, 03/05/2016

(*) RG Balgray, The Reviews Hub, 02/05/2016

This cocktail of sex and politics is heady and intoxicating.

(*) Lorna Irvine, The List, 05/05/2016

Zinnie Harris' follows up her reimagining of The Oresteia with two strong dramas.

(*) (*) Lorna Irvine, The List, 05/05/2016

The shift in tone between parts two and three may be disconcerting, but This Restless House still feels like a major achievement nevertheless. Harris writes in a rich, pungent, modern vernacular, while Hill directs with his typical combination of intelligent inventiveness and confident style.

Mark Brown, Scottish Stage, 05/05/2016

A punchy, contemporary version of the text by the playwright Zinnie Harris.

(*) Allan Radcliffe, 05/05/2016

Harris’ clever and diligent adaptation shows us that there is still much to be found in unpicking the Greek classics.

(*) Irina Glinski, TVBomb, 09/05/2016

The best new production this year.

Christine Irvine, Exeunt, 10/05/2016

A visceral and modern reworking of Aeschylus's Greek tragedy.

(*) Adeline Amar, The List, 06/09/2017