Thursday, August 13- Wednesday, 19, 2026  |  Edmonton Fringe Festival

gore (i want to disappear)

GREEK TRAGEDY. QUEER FUTURISM. FANFICTION.

Agamemnon kills Artemis’ prize stag. Iphigenia and Cassandra deal with the consequences. Orestes and Pylades go to war. Klytemnestra and Electra weigh revenge as self-care. The Furies drink Gatorade. A contemporary retelling of Aiskolys' THE ORESTEIA written and directed by Elena Belyea.

PLEASE KEEP SCROLLING TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR CONTENT WARNINGS.

CREATIVE TEAM

Featuring:

GEOFFREY SIMON BROWN as Cassandra + Orestes
SARAH EMSLIE as Iphigenia + Agamemnon
KRISTEN PADAYAS as Klytemnestra + Pylades
AUTUMN STROM as Artemis + Electra

Fight and Intimacy Consultation by Morgan Yamada
Movement Consultation by Ainsley Hillyard
Additional Movement Support from Tia Ashley Kushniruk 亚 女弟

Written and Directed by Elena Belyea
Dramaturgy by Emma Tibaldo
Stage Managed
by Claire Sonmor
Assistant Direction by Nicole Maloney

Sensitivity Consultation by Simone Atenea Medina Polo, additional support from Jenna Rodgers.

Additional dramaturgical support from the ensemble (Sarah, Kristen, Geoffrey and Autumn) as well as workshop actors Alex Dawkins and Rochelle Laplante.

Production Design by Elena Belyea
Lighting Design by Whittyn Jason with Elena Belyea
Sound Design
by Elena Belyea, Tori Morrison, Autumn Strom
Assistant Producing Angie Bustos

Promo photos by Brianne Jang

With thanks to Jill Connell and It Could Still Happen

SHOW SCHEDULE


Thursday, August 13

11:59PM


Friday, August 14

5:00PM


Saturday, August 15

11:15PM


Sunday, August 16

7:30PM


Tuesday, August 18

2:15PM


Wednesday, August 19

9:45PM


  • "It could also be connected to a longstanding rivalry with my brother, Apollo who also fucks around with mortals on occasion. I might also have a Vitamin D deficiency—"

    — Artemis, gore (i want to disappear)

  • "Something's happening. It's already started."

    — Cassandra, gore (i want to disappear)

  • "You made my dad execute me on my fake wedding day."

    — Iphigenia, gore (i want to disappear)

  • "There she goes again! Shrieking like a pack of wild dogs!"

    — Klytemnestra, (gore, i want to disappear)

Content Warnings (INCLUDES SPOILERS)

Murder, betrayal, grief. Suicide (part of a scene’s action, but not depicted literally). Suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety. A brother asks his sister to kill him (she refuses). Drug and alcohol abuse (vaping, weed, beer). Sex with a strap-on (part of the scene’s action, not depicted literally). Discussions and mentions of penetrative sex (as well as a fear of engaging with it, connected to internalized homophobia). A character discovers she had sex with someone who contributed to the death of her sibling. Mention of a woman being abducted and sexually assaulted (recounted afterwards, not described in detail or depicted) then dismembering her abusers (not described in detail or depicted). A character gets an erection in the presence of a dead body. A mother ends her own life to save her children. Mention of war, war crimes, colonization, and colonial destruction of a land, people and culture. A father encourages a son to hide his queerness. A trans daughter describes delaying coming out, due to feeling neglected by her mother.

By the end of the play, the character who was sexually assaulted and abducted returns home and helps restore her community. The play’s queer and trans characters (except for Iphigenia, who is killed by her father in one of the first scenes) all survive and live long lives. Despite her murder, Iphigenia is okay (she and her mother Klytemnestra enjoy their afterlives).