The Travelling Players

The travelling players set up, rehearse, promote and finally perform Golfo the Shepherdess in 1893 Greece. This bucolic verse drama explores love, betrayal and death, anchoring the troupe's emerging identity. The first level of the film follows their early tours through Greek communities.

The film shifts to the era of rising conflict, covering 1939-1940 as Greece endures the last year of Metaxas' dictatorship and the approach of war. The troupe witnesses how political repression and social upheaval affect the communities they visit. Their art becomes a lens on and response to mounting pressure.

Agamemnon goes to war against the Italians in 1940, setting him on a path that will later intersect with the resistance. He eventually joins the Greek resistance against the German occupiers. He is betrayed by Clytemnestra and Aegisthos and executed.

Aegisthos, Clytemnestra's lover, emerges as an informer and collaborator working with the German occupiers. His betrayal heightens danger for the troupe and deepens personal conflicts. The occupation tightens the grip on Greek life and theatre alike.

Electra and Orestes join the leftist resistance, fighting alongside the guerrillas. Orestes seeks vengeance for his father by killing his mother, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthos. The siblings' struggle intertwines with the wider war and civil conflict.

Pylades, a close friend of Orestes, is exiled by the Metaxas regime as a communist. He later joins the guerrillas as the war escalates. He endures further political punishment, being arrested and exiled again.

Chrysotheme, Electra's younger sister, colludes with the Germans during the occupation and even prostitutes herself to survive. After liberation she aligns with the British. She later marries an American.

Liberation brings a shift in power with British and American involvement in Greek affairs. The troupe's fortunes rise and fall as loyalties realign in the postwar chaos. Chrysotheme's choices reflect the region's volatile reorientation.

Orestes avenges his father by killing his mother, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthos during the late-1940s turmoil. This brutal act marks a turning point for the family and the troupe. It intensifies the civil conflict and the personal costs of resistance.

Orestes is arrested in 1949 for guerrilla activities, illustrating the crackdown on leftist resistance. His imprisonment heightens the stakes for the troupe and their allies. The authorities' actions reflect the broader purges of the era.

Pylades is arrested and exiled again during the postwar purge. Under torture he is forced to sign a written denunciation of the left. He is released from prison in 1950, bearing the scars of the coercive regime.

Orestes is executed in prison in 1951, removing a central figure from the leftist struggle. His death resonates through the troupe and the communities they touch. The personal tragedy mirrors the ongoing political conflicts.

Electra continues the troupe's work after Orestes' death and deepens her relationship with Pylades. She sustains the artistic tradition amid political upheaval. Their bond drives the troupe's resilience and future.

The final level shows the troupe enduring into 1952, preserving their art in a changing Greece. The parallels with the ancient House of Atreus underscore the enduring cycles of betrayal and loyalty. The film closes on the troupe's resilience and the uneasy peace of the era.