The Trojan Women explores the Class, Racial and Sexual Politics of War
An intense but highly intriguing adaptation of Euripides’ The Trojan Woman, by Caroline Bird opened at Seattle’s favorite venue for plays taking place in prisons: The old Immigration Jail, now called The Slate Theatre. Produced by Civic Rep Theatre, the play offered a scintillating exposé of the interconnection between war and rape, of the rationalizations of the powerful as they evade their responsibilities and avoid making amends, how the wives of the powerful, accepting of their “feminine” roles, use power ruthlessly and of course, how the poor and disenfranchised pay the ultimate price for war. All this wrapped up in a coherent script, sprinkled with poetic witticisms, which honored the classical text and our modern theatrical conventions.
Written as the third part of a trilogy dealing with the Trojan War in 415 B.C., Euripides’ original script caused quite a bit of controversy in ancient Greece because it focused not on traditional subjects: the heroic exploits of men, but on the consequences of defeat in war as they are visited upon women. Both scripts take place after the Trojans have lost the Trojan War to the Greeks, when the widowed Queen of Troy, Hecuba, awaits her fate.
In the original script the characters are: Hecuba, Cassandra, her daughter, Andromache, Hecuba’s daughter-in-law the widow of the great Trojan warrior Hector (slain by Achilles) and of course Helen of Troy, the erstwhile wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, whose elopement with Paris, one of Hecuba’s sons, was the ostensible reason for the war. All these characters are members of the royal family and were “players” in one way or another in the events leading up to the war, in the continuation of the war, or in events immediately afterward.
However, in Bird’s version, the “chorus”, that device used in classical plays to stand outside of the action and comment on it, became a character in the play. “Chorus” was an outsider among the royals, in Bird’s version as she is a pregnant village woman who was not a “player”.
Unprotected by a fortified castle during the actual battles, she is the one who has suffered the most during the war. Director Leah Adcock-Starr cast an African American, Shermona Mitchell, ever reminding us that the disenfranchised of society bear the brunt of our never ending wars in the Middle East.
Although the subject matter was intense and disturbing, under Leah Adcock-Starr’s stellar directing, the audience was glued to their seats for 90 minutes, as we also listened to some poetic words of wisdom and a fair amount of gallows humor. I particularly liked the phrase “Bamboozling out of Guilt”
As for the acting, it was as triumphant as the Greek victory but without having to trick any of us with a fake horse. Although the play was riddled with anger and intensity, vocally the actors delivered the emotional goods without relying on shouting. Robin Jones, who played all the young women, was spectacular and differentiated the characters extremely effectively, without much external help in the way of wigs, make-up or costuming. One minute she was the mad Cassandra, another the fairly sensible Andromache, another the repulsively seductive Helen.
L. Zane Jones, as Hecuba had an extremely difficult task since Hecuba was about the least sympathetic leading lady ever written; however, in spite of her cruelty and evil tendencies she portrayed the character with delicacy. Ms. Zane Jones’ portrayal of Hecuba illustrated the machinations of women whose power is derived from men, but who ultimately use that power against other women.
Without being maudlin, Shermona Mitchell as “Chorus” put in a deeply moving performance and at times was extremely funny. Richard Sloniker as the ambitious, officious prison guard offered cynical comic relief, and Ray Tagavilla as Poseidon was highly amusing.
All in all I urge everyone to go see this show. We don’t see much classical theatre in Seattle, and adaptations of the classics are often hit and miss, but this one definitely hit the bulls eye.
The Trojan Women, by Caroline Bird. Adapted from Euripides. Civic Rep Theatre, 815 Seattle Blvd S. ( Old Immigration Jail-South End of the International District) Parking is very difficult. Thur-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. Thru Jan. 29th. Info civicrep.org, Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2724903