On Friday night, Visions of an Ancient Dreamer, advertised as a part of the Festival of the Creative Arts, took the main stage in Spingold Theater Center. Consisting of two classic works by Euripides-Orestes and Iphigenia at Tauris- the Brandeis Theater Company's production was directed by Prof. Eric Hill (THA) and Aparna Sindhoor and translated by Prof. Leonard C. Muellner (CLAS) and his students. The two-part play was excellently performed, from the individual performances to choreographed movements to the production's thoughtfully staged set.

For the first part of Orestes, I was slightly confused and disinterested, but after seeing the rest of the show, I attribute this to the complicated plot. The story started with Helen of Troy, who ran away from her home of Argos after Aphrodite offered her as a gift to another king. After defeating Troy in an attempt to regain Helen, the soldiers, including the infamous hero Odysseus, return home, but complications quickly arise for Agamemnon, a famous soldier. He is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra, and in an act of revenge, his son Orestes murders her. The play starts at this moment, in the aftermath of the murder. He is racked with guilt, and soon goes mad-ostracizing himself from everyone in Argos except for his sister Electra.

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra never actually appear onstage, rather both are only present through the stories of other characters. Orestes (Sam Gillam, MFA) gave an emotionally-charged performance as the haunted, twisted murderer who does not regret his actions, yet realizes their magnitude. His performance was definitely a highlight of the show, especially in interactions with Electra (Sarah Elizabeth Bedard, MFA) and his best friend Pylades (Brandon Green, MFA). At times, I thought the play was very impersonal and lacked emotional connections between characters, but that ended up making these heightened moments particularly poignant.

Oretes and Pylades' relationship can easily be described in modern terms as a "bromance"-they are infallibly loyal to one another despite the life-or-death situations they repeatedly find themselves in. Throughout Orestes' mental attacks , Pylades declares his allegiance to his friend despite whatever anyone else in the city thinks. Both actors were spectacular, and facilitated one of my favorite character dynamics in the entire show.

Oddly enough, my favorite character of all had one of the most minor roles in the show-Alex Davis '15 as an unnamed old man who explains to Electra exactly what happened at Orestes' trial for killing his mother. I have seen Davis in several productions, most recently in Hold Thy Peace's Much Ado About Nothing, and I am always enchanted by his performances.

His stage presence and character portrayals are always dynamic, enthusiastic and captivating. After only a few minutes on stage, I was left wishing he had a bigger role in the production.

The second portion of the play, Iphigenia at Tauris, picks up a little while after the first part ends. In the end of the preceding portion, Orestes and his sister had avoided execution and the god Apollo (Nathanel Peleg '13) sorts out all the problems that arose throughout the play.

Predating the time periods of both plays, it is told that Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia (Sara Schoch, MFA) to Artemis in order to win the war against Troy. However, unbeknownst to her entire family, Iphigenia is saved and taken to the island of Tauris where she has since performed sacrifices for the gods.

Orestes and Pylades end up washed up on the shore of Tauris, where they meet Iphigenia-neither of them knowing that they are siblings. After much back-and-forth banter, they realize their relationship and conduct a plan to escape from the island. Orestes' ability to develop an emotional connection with his other sister, Iphigenia, is a highlight of the show. Overall, I liked the second part of the play most because it was faster-paced and fostered a much greater emotional depth.

Visions' set was very simplistic-opening with red-colored draping, which was removed to show bare platforms for the second act. This contrasted with the complexity of the plot and offered a stable backdrop to the performance. The play did not feature any classical dance choreography, but the precise movements of the characters added to the mystical, Greek epic vibe of the play.

Most noticeably, five girls acted as pseudo-narrators who stood usually behind the main action of a scene while delivering supportive lines that whelped add substance to the plots. At times, they ranged from Electra's minions to screaming for Orestes' innocence. Their movements were synchronized and added to the impact of their lines.

I thoroughly enjoyed the play, both for its theatrical and historical values. The visually stunning set and costumes added another dimension to the already superior acting. Visions was a great addition to the Festival of the Arts lineup and is a clear demonstration of what makes the arts so outstanding at Brandeis.