UNBELIEVABLE: Iphigenia review a clumsy and unnecessary attempt to make euripides relevant | History Defined

Fragments of the grandeur of Euripides’ tragedy shine through in this earnest but ill-conceived production. Turkish director Serdar Biliş jarringly interlaces the tale of Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his daughter during the Trojan War with reminiscences of contemporary family life and filmed testimonials about male cruelty or violence.

The former are bittersweet – some sad, some warm and fuzzy – and ostensibly drawn from the memories of the show’s three strong actors. The latter are from a series of unnamed women of different nationalities. They include tales of indifferent fathers and abusive husbands, horror stories of assassination or bombardment in Ukraine and Lebanon.