Phaedra Or Alcestis, 2007

3 male - 4 female

Elena Penga

A contemporary play inspired by Euripides’ tragedies Hippolytus and Alcestis.  Why Phaedra or Alcestis?  A fresh take at Phaedra’s love and Alcestis’ love.  Why doesn’t Phaedra pull back from her obsession with Hippolytus?  Why can’t she love him, without possessing him?  And why is Alcestis’ love is so selfless?  How do we fall in love?  How do we love?  How do we live in love?  How does love kill us?  Phaedra and Alcestis present two different extremes in the same old love story.

The stage is divided in two.  On the right is the palace of Phaedra and on the left is that of Alcestis.  The action starts on the right.  We watch Phaedra’s drama in her palace.  As soon as Phaedra dies, the action moves to the left, and we follow Alcestis’ drama.  The connecting character is Death.  Death is there to take both women with him, and he does so.

Written in Greek, it has been translated in German by Torsten Israel and in English by the playwright.

PLAYS

Woman and Wolf, 2013

4 male – 4 female

Narcissus, 2011

Monologue for one male actor and 15 men volunteers

Phaedra Or Alcestis, 2007

3 male - 4 female

Who are our new friends?, 2006

4 male – 5 female

Nelly’s takes her dog out for a walk, 2003

1 female actress – 2 dancers (1 female and 1 male)

When the Go-Go Dancers dance, 2002

1 male, 1 female, 1 Go-Go boy, 1 Go-Go girl

3-0-1 TRANSPORTS, 2000

4 male & 4 female

Gorky’s Wife, 1995

3 male, 2 female

ESSAYS

ELENA PENGA'S THEATRE

We die without having learned so many things

Maxim Gorky, Franz Kafka, Kostas Giannidis, Nelly’s, Käthe Kollwitz, Lorca,...