The Oresteia Tickets

If the words Greek tragedy immediately conjure up school textbooks, complicated family trees and moments of wondering whether you should have paid more attention in Year 9 Drama, relax. Yes, Simon Stone's latest production at the Bridge Theatre is inspired by Aeschylus' The Oresteia; the only surviving trilogy from Ancient Greece, first performed in 458 BCE. But this isn't a history lesson. Stone, returning to the Bridge after his acclaimed adaptation of The Lady from the Sea, has taken the bones of one of history's greatest tragedies and rebuilt it as a slick, modern family thriller. Gone are the togas. In their place? A wealthy British family, a luxury suburban home, morally murky business dealings, genuinely hilarious one-liners and enough secrets to fuel an entire season of prestige telly.  Think Harlan Coben meets The White Lotus The Middleton family look like they have everything. Beautiful home? Tick. Successful business? Tick. Picture-perfect family? Well... not quite. Behind the polished exterior lies a family quickly imploding, with dad Christopher's defence technology company casting a long moral shadow over everyone around him. It gave me serious All My Sons vibes, while the wealthy, deeply dysfunctional (and incestual) family dynamics felt somewhere between The White Lotus and a Harlan Coben mystery. The dialogue is surprisingly funny too. Instead of solemn mythical figures delivering lofty speeches, these characters are witty, passive-aggressive, occasionally ridiculous and flawed. Very flawed!  Rosie Sheehy's Alice is an absolute scene-stealer, delivering some of the evening's biggest laughs while somehow remaining completely believable amid the chaos. Like binge-watching a thriller... only live At around three hours and 35 minutes, The Oresteia might sound like an endurance test, but in reality, it really does fly by. Split into three parts with two intervals, the evening feels very episodic. Each act ends just as another piece of the puzzle falls into place, leaving you discussing theories over a drink before diving straight back in. It captures exactly the same feeling as telling yourself, "Just one more episode," before suddenly realising it's gone midnight. (Don’t worry, the play ends at around 10.35pm, not midnight!) The non-linear storytelling only adds to that momentum, gradually revealing what happened to this family instead of handing you all the answers upfront. If you're a fan of true crime podcasts or murder mysteries that drip-feed information, you'll feel right at home.

Following his critically acclaimed adaptation of The Lady from the Sea, Olivier Award-winning writer and director Simon Stone has returned to the Bridge Theatre with a bold new version of The Oresteia. Starring Mary-Louise Parker, David Morrissey, Tom Glynn-Carney, Rosie Sheehy and Archie Madekwe, the production has now officially opened in London. But what did the critics make of this modern retelling of Aeschylus' ancient tragedy? What is The Oresteia about? “A modern family wakes up in a Greek myth”. That's the gripping premise of Simon Stone's bold new adaptation of The Oresteia, inspired by Aeschylus' ancient trilogy. The story follows the House of Atreus, where returning war hero Agamemnon is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra. Their son, Orestes, then takes revenge by killing his mother, only to be relentlessly pursued by the Furies for his crime. As the cycle of violence reaches its climax, the goddess Athena establishes a new system of justice, bringing an end to generations of bloodshed.

The West End has a reputation for producing some of the best theatre in the world. And it’s a reputation it both earns and defends consistently. As well as being home to The Mousetrap – the longest-running play in the world – London is the birthplace of many groundbreaking shows that will soon experience global success. From fresh new plays and highly anticipated transfers to innovative revivals and A-list casts, there’s always something exciting opening in London. Whether you’re making last-minute plans, want to be the first to see the next big thing, impress your friends with your theatre know-how, or you’re just curious, you can find out about all the new theatre opening this month right here with us. Every year there is a truly incredible array of shows available to see, and this month is no exception. So keep your finger on the pulse of West End plays as we dive into all of London’s new theatre this month. Theatre Starting This Month There are so many new plays opening this month in London. From West End giants to family shows, you can see it all – and book it all here while you’re at it. All The Things We Can’t Explain This community production at Kiln Theatre is an original piece exploring the speculative future of Kilburn. When the area starts to go through a "rejuvenation," a mysterious object appears – the bloody, beating heart of Kilburn itself. The residents go into chaos as they discover the fate of their neighbourhood is under threat, and they must come together to save the town they love. All The Things We Can’t Explain opens on 31 July 2026. Allegra Dame Maureen Lipman stars in the new comedy, Allegra. Allegra sees the world differently. She hears it differently, too. All because she can’t stop herself from singing. Her carers are trying to look after her the best they can, but when Allegra’s musical world slips from her mind into the real world, the boundaries between imagination and reality start to blur, and her joy becomes an issue that needs to be resolved. Allegra opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 8 July 2026. Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story For seven performances only, you can see Awkward Prods’ hilarious and ridiculous show that wowed audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe. This is a celebration of Princess Di. It mixes drag, multimedia, audience participation, puppetry and queer joy to create a truly unique show. It’s one of the unmissable pieces of new theatre this month. Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story will be playing at the Arcola Theatre for one week only from 6 July 2026. Dreamscape This award-winning production is a truly unique and important piece of new theatre opening this month. Telling the shocking true story of the shooting of Tyisha Miller, Dreamscape combines beatboxing, rap and hip-hop dance to explore how the 19-year-old was shot four times by Californian police officers in 1998. Powerful and moving, it’s a must-see for July. Dreamscape opens at the Arcola Theatre on 28 July 2026. Gruffalo Everyone’s favourite forest beast is coming back to London just in time for the summer holidays. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved picture book is coming to life once more as The Gruffalo stomps onto the Lyric Theatre stage. Watch as Mouse manages to trick his way out of the bellies of a bevy of predators in this uplifting and charming show. The Gruffalo opens on 17 July 2026.

David Morrissey, Mary Louise Parker, Rosie Sheehy, and Tom Glynn-Carney star in The Oresteia at the Bridge, a new contemporary version of the Greek tragedy written and directed by Simon Stone. This should be quite something because Stone has already delivered some of the most memorable shows of the last 15 years, including Medea at the Barbican and the astonishing Yerma at the Young Vic with Billie Piper. Aeschylus’ mighty play may have been written two millennia ago, but Stone is likely to make it seem fresh off the page.  Simon Stone’s theatre is always pretty distinctive, but it looks quite tame compared with the work of Japanese theatre-maker Hideki Noda, whose work has included The Bee with Kathryn Hunter and A Night at the Kabuki, which fused Romeo and Juliet with Queen’s A Night at the Opera. At Sadler's Wells this week, Noda and his 25-strong company can be seen in −320°F, a piece inspired by the Faust myth about a man in search of the secret of eternal life.

Reasons to see The Oresteia at the Bridge Theatre Yes, I know you are disappointed that Chris Pine won’t be on the London stage until 2027 in Ivanov at the Bridge Theatre, but the postponement offers the opportunity for rising levels of anticipation (like looking forward to a holiday booked months in advance) and could just make way for the show of the year. To fill the slot, writer/director Simon Stone is instead turning his attention to that big daddy of revenge tragedies, Aeschylus’ The Oresteia, first performed in 458 BC. Your added bonus is that it stars David Morrissey, Mary-Louise Parker, Tom Glynn-Carney and Rosie Sheehy.  Won’t it be a bit old and crumbly? Well, yes, it is extremely old and the only complete trilogy of plays to survive from Ancient Greece, but it’s also an award-winner. It won first prize at the city of Athens festival of Dionysia. So, it was the Olivier Award winner of its day. Apparently, there was a team of judges, but they were strongly influenced by how hard the audience clapped; clearly, an early version of the clapometer was in operation for the judging process. So, what’s it about? Revenge and justice. In the first play, Agamemnon returns triumphant from the Trojan Wars but is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra, who, not surprisingly, hasn’t got over the fact he sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia to appease the gods and get a fair wind to set sail to Troy. In the second play, the husband and wife’s son, Orestes, murders his mum to avenge his dad’s murder. In the third play Orestes is pursued by the Furies demanding that Clytemnestra is avenged. So it’s three plays condensed into one, asking, 'Can the cycle of revenge and generational trauma ever be broken?'  Ok, I like a bit of revenge, but it still feels as if it will be all Greek to me. It might well do so if it were not for the fact that it is being rewritten and directed by Simon Stone, who has a real knack for bringing old and older texts right up to date. He had a huge hit with a knock-out version of Lorca’s Yerma set in contemporary London with Billie Piper in the lead, and he did a brilliant Medea set in contemporary America.  So, this version is about a family in the here and now, not one living thousands of years ago. Stone has previously said of his work, “What if it’s about you? " What if it’s a very old story about you?” This version of The Oresteia will be, and it will raise questions: how does society deal with a father who has killed his daughter and a son who slays his mum? Those questions are as pertinent to us today as they were in Ancient Greece. 

The incessant sounds of clocks ticking as you entered the auditorium for Oresteia at Trafalgar Studios gave the impression that it was only a matter of time: that we were simply waiting for the hammer to fall. And when it fell, it hit hard.

Oresteia, currently playing at Trafalgar Studios, is a contemporary retelling of the Greek tragedy. Adapted by Robert Icke (who also adapted 1984), the production is passionate, subtle and stylistic. The more you think about Oresteia, the better it gets.