# ‘People say I’m pouring Coca-Cola into fine malt whisky’: why is the National Theatre shaking up Sophocles?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/people-say-im-pouring-coca-cola-into-fine-malt-whisky-why-is-the-national-theatre-shaking-up-sophocles/
- Published: 2026-07-30T04:00:52+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-30T04:12:14+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/jul/30/sophocles-bergman-cate-blanchett-nina-hoss-electra-persona
- Topics: Americas, Art, Culture, World

## Key points

- National Theatre merges Sophocles's Electra with Bergman's film Persona
- Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss alternate roles nightly, unannounced to audiences
- Director Benedict Andrews calls it "one hinged work", not a double-bill

## Summary

The National Theatre is staging Electra/Persona, a new production directed by Benedict Andrews that fuses Sophocles's ancient tragedy Electra with Ingmar Bergman's 1966 film Persona, starring Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss. The two works, written 23 centuries apart, are performed either side of the interval and linked by a striking theatrical transition, reflecting Andrews's long-standing fascination with why Bergman had his character break down while playing Electra. The pairing is a bold and unconventional artistic gamble, continuing Andrews's track record of radical reworkings of classic texts.

Blanchett and Hoss will alternate nightly between playing Electra/Clytemnestra in the first half and Elisabeth/Alma in the second, with whoever plays Electra reappearing as Elisabeth and Clytemnestra reappearing as Alma. Audiences will not know which actor is playing which role until the performance begins, and the box office will not disclose casting in advance. Andrews, known for reimagining works such as Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, describes the production not as a double-bill but as "one hinged work", requiring the cast to rehearse both plays intensively each day.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.