When simplicity meets complexity, when classic blends with modern. When the issues of today are actually just the same as the issues of generations ago, with different technology.

"GORE (i want to disappear)" is a modern, queer, sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll retelling of Aeschylus' The Oresteia that features four actors – each effortlessly switching from character to character, with the swiftness and ease that beginner drama students dream about. Geoffrey Simon Brown stood out in that skill, switching from the loving yet closed-off Orestes to the friendly and reminiscing vaper that is Cassandra to the monotone and questioning chorus so easily that there was almost no need to specify which character was which as it was so easy to tell by stance and facial expressions alone. The four actors each brought such skill to the show, sincerely relating to each other and the audience to present Elena Belyea’s story of the tragedies of colonialism, war, societal treatment of queer identities and women, and classic Greek literature.

The show is not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. The story is complex and experimental, following many characters, at different ages, portrayed by four actors, with so much symbolism in the set and props that it leaves you wondering what some of it was even supposed to represent. It’s not seamless in any sense, but it is absolutely worth the watch.

With its simple set, minimal actors, and spectacular lighting design, this show managed to create a deeply enticing, realised world of the highs and lows of the characters’ (and the audience’s) lives.