of the play belongs to the chorus.
An example of how the original meters affect the delivery of the text is below. Like most of the
surviving tragedies, the first choral song of "Agamemnon" begins with a march written in
anapests (in Greek verse "short-short-LONG," in English verse "weak-weak-STRONG"). This
rhythm is well-suited to marching:
It's been TEN long, drawn YEARS
From when PRIam's great FOE
Lord MENalaos
With my KING AgaMEMnone;
The firm LEAGUEof the SONS
Of great ATreus' HOUSE,
Sharing THRONE and joint SCEPTER
From great ZEUS of the GODS,
Did emBARK from this LAND
Thousand SHIPS to comMAND;
The choral portions are divided into sections called strophes and antistrophes, whose meters
must match exactly. This adds a structural rigor to the translator's job. In Harrington's
adaptation, the metrical mirroring is strictly maintained. Thus the choral songs are made up of
melodic twins in which every two verses have the same tune.
The "authenticity" idea in the poetry will be extended into the play's visuals. Scholars have
deduced that the heroes of Greek satyr plays were costumed similarly to those of tragedies. The
costume design by Rebecca Bernstein derives from an Athenian vase painting of a satyr play,
showing actors in robes with elaborate graphic designs that are quite different from the plain
white chitons and draping that are commonly associated with Greek tragedy.
The actors' faces will be painted to achieve the sculptural severity of masks while allowing for
facial expression. This technique was used in Harrington's 2007 production at La MaMa, "The
Burial at Thebes," Seamus Heaney's adaptation of "Antigone." The severe makeup enables The
Eleventh Hour to adhere to the three-actor rule. Athenian tragedies were performed by an all-
male chorus and three male actors who played all the principal roles, including women. In this
production, some of these male roles will be played by women.
Alexander Harrington (director, translator) is the founder and artistic director The Eleventh Hour
Theatre Company, for which he has directed "The Burial at Thebes," "Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2,"
"Henry V" and his own adaptation of Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov (Part 2)," all at La
MaMa. His Eleventh Hour Theatre productions outside La MaMa have been "Richard II" at HERE
and "The Brothers Karamazov, Part 1" at The Culture Project. His first production at La MaMa
was the Richmond Lattimore translation of "Agamemnon" in 1997, before he founded Eleventh
Hour Theatre. His other directing credits include "Billy Budd," "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado about
Nothing" and the premiere of Edward Einhorn's "Linguish." His adaptation of "The Brothers
Karamazov" was published in the New York Theatre Experience's anthology "Playing with
Canons." As a scholar and critic, Mr. Harrington's work has been published in "Dissent"
magazine, "First of the Month," "Upstart Crow," "Shakespeare Criticism, Vol. 89" and "Literary
Themes for Students: War and Peace." Along with David Mamet, he is contributing an essay on
political theatre to the upcoming anthology "New Threats to Freedom." Harrington teaches
acting Shakespeare at HB studio and has taught at Clemson University and the Gallatin School
at NYU. He was an original member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and a
participant in The Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit.
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