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.