One doesn't just happen upon productions of Greek classics every day. While some people may not rue this lack of ancient theatre in their lives, Adhere + Deny's Grant Guy is not one of them.

Under the artistic vision of Guy, the local puppet theatre company is bringing an adaptation of Aeschylus' trilogy The Oresteia (which includes the parts Agamemnon, Libation Bearers and The Euminides) to Winnipeg audiences as Oresteia Trio.

Aeschylus' work had a transformational impact on the structure of theatre, breaking away from the ancient tradition of single character work coupled with a chorus. With The Oresteia, he provided another instrumental concept to the world - trial by jury.

Briefly, the trilogy chronicles the curse on the House of Atreus (father of Agamemnon), the return of Agamemnon from the Trojan war, his murder by wife Clytemnestra, the need for revenge plaguing Agamemnon's son, Orestes, and his subsequent trial, along with the eventual ending of the curse by Athena.

Unless an audience has an extra six to nine hours on its hands, bringing the whole trilogy to the stage is incredibly difficult. Thus, Guy and company have decided to focus on the third part of the trilogy to keep within their usual 50-60 minute running time.

"We severely truncated the first two parts, I mean severely," Guy says. "But we kept some of the poetry and the narrative line together, so the audience can maintain the history prior to the third part."

As is common for the company's work, it draws both on Aeschylus' own writing and that of other works which speak to it, using actors, puppets and other media sources to create a collage/homage to the original.

Ultimately, with the third part of the trilogy as the focus, Oresteia Trio becomes a meditation on the role of justice within the structure of law. It was a radical view during Aeschylus' day, when revenge reigned supreme and one which Guy feels may be lost today, making the timeliness of the work undeniable.

"There was a shift to get away from the ancient laws of blood for blood, revenge for revenge and try to bring some sort of reasonable argument to crime," Guy explains. "So what Aeschylus and the other people of this ilk were arguing was to step back and take the concept of revenge to this level of rationality, but when I look around, particularly today, in some ways we're asking the courts to be an extension of that revenge, and that noble idea has been compromised.

"And if you pay attention to news media, if there's a sensational trial or sensational crimes committed, pretty much the media has already tried and convicted that person before they even get to court.

"I don't know how anybody can almost have a fair trial now."