After Agamemnon: FIU Theatre brings an ancient tale of revenge to life

Agamemnon’s story doesn’t end on the big IMAX screen. The legendary Greek king featured in Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster, The Odyssey, may be dead by the time Sophocles’ Elektra begins, but his murder still haunts the family he left behind.

For his daughter Elektra, grief is not something to overcome. It's something to act upon. 

In FIU Theatre’s production of Sophocles' ancient Greek tragedy Elektra, running from September 25 through October 4 at The Wertheim, students bring a 2,400-year-old story of family, loss and revenge to the stage, inviting audiences to consider how far someone might go in the name of justice, even if it means standing up to the powers that be. 

“The play is about the mix of resentment and affection we all feel toward our parents and siblings. But since it is Greek mythology, it plays out on a bigger scale,” says director Michael Yawney. “People will enjoy seeing this because they’ll understand that the things that they’re currently experiencing are things that humans have been experiencing for thousands and thousands of years.”

Although the play is set years after the epic Trojan War, for Elektra’s family, the tragedy began long before.  A generational curse has plagued the family with an unending cycle of betrayal, murder and revenge. 

After his triumphant return from the war, the legendary King Agamemnon was deceived and assassinated by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus (Agamemnon’s cousin). Their son Orestes is exiled, while his daughter, Elektra, grieves loudly and vows to avenge her father’s murder.

For BFA Acting student Jazmine Jimenez, portraying Elektra means navigating the character’s complex emotions rather than simply focusing on her desire for revenge. 

“Elektra goes through a lot of emotional whirlwinds,” says Jimenez. “She's dealing with the arrival of her brother and her father's death. She's dealing with the relationships with the people still in the house after the murder has happened. And I feel like sometimes that can get overshadowed by her courage to go against the powers that be in the house.” 

While Elektra remains trapped in her grief, someone is on their way to satisfy her desire for justice.

Welcome home, Elektra’s brother, Orestes.  After years spent in exile, his return offers hope, but his arrival also forces the siblings to confront the question at the core of the play: What are you willing to do for justice?

For BFA Acting student Victor Guerrero, playing Orestes means wrestling with the weight of expectations and his longing for the family and birthright that was stolen from him.

“Orestes is a person who has been deprived of a family, and he longs for that,” says Guerrero.  “He tries to find that in all the people around him while also balancing this grand destiny that he's been preparing for all his life.”

For BFA Costume Designer, Gianna Wu Ruiz, making the struggles of the characters feel relevant to today’s audience was important. Rather than dressing the characters in ancient clothing that feels distant from the audience, Ruiz took major inspiration from urban cityscapes and intentionally used earthy tones and fabrics to reflect a town affected by generational trauma. 

“Within the House of Atreus, this curse of bloodshed and generational trauma has spread outward throughout the town of Mycenae,” Ruiz says. “You can see that in the costumes. You can see a lot of wear and tear from this kind of generational trauma and curse that has corrupted everyone around town.”

The result is a world where the effects of the family’s history can be seen beyond just the characters themselves. The costumes become another way for the audience to experience the weight of the curse and to see how one family’s conflict can affect an entire town. 

Over 2,400 years after Sophocles first told Elektra’s story, FIU Theatre brings the tragedy into a world that feels both ancient and familiar. 

Elektra is now playing at the Wertheim Black Box through October 4, 2026. Tickets are available at go.fiu.edu/theatre.