Alcestis

King Admetos, doomed to an early death, is given a chance at life if someone will agree to die in his place. While others refuse, his devoted and virtuous wife Alcestis agrees to give up her life for his. But her death raises many questions. Was King Admetos selfish to accept his wife’s sacrifice? Will he be able to carry on without her? And what will happen when the mighty Heracles arrives on the scene? Ted Hughes’s adaptation of Euripides’s Alcestis weaves together vivid language and modern idiom into a poignant and powerfully moving work.

Recommended for age 13 & up.