Trojan Women

FEBRUARY 14 – 23, 2019

NOTE: The Box Office has resumed regular hours:
Monday to Saturday from 12 noon to 8:30 pm

 

By Euripides
Translation by Alan Shapiro
Director Jan Wood

This Greek tragedy is the first play written about the brutal aftermath of war. Set against the background of the epic tale of the Trojan War, Euripides shifts our focus away from the conquering heroes. Instead, he tells the story from the perspective of the wives, mothers and daughters of the defeated Trojan warriors.

These vanquished women have lost their families, their dignity and their sense of place in the world. They struggle with their grief and uncertainty as the victors decide their fate.

This powerful and timeless play reminds us that the casualties of war are not abstract concepts but living, breathing, suffering people. Although written in 415 BCE, this play’s message continues to resonate today.

Euripides
Euripides was born in Athens, Greece, around 485 B.C. He became one of the best-known and most influential dramatists in classical Greek culture. Over his career as a poet and dramatist, Euripides wrote approximately 90 plays, 19 of which have survived through manuscripts. Of the three most famous tragic dramatists to come out of ancient Greece—the others being Aeschylus and Sophocles—Euripides was the last and perhaps the most influential. Like all the major playwrights of his time, Euripides competed in the annual Athenian dramatic festivals held in honor of the god Dionysus. He first entered the festival in 455, and he won the first of his four victories in 441. His most famous tragedies, which reinvent Greek myths and probe the darker side of human nature, include Medea, The Bacchae, Hippolytus, Alcestis and The Trojan Women. Euripides’s work is notable for its strong, complex female characters who are represented as both victims and avengers. He often made indirect commentary on current events, as is evident in The Trojan Women, which was written during the Pelopennesian War (431-404 B.C.).
Jan Wood

Jan Wood graduated from the University of Alberta with a BFA in Drama, specializing in acting. She has over 35 years experience in professional theatre as an actor, director, movement coach, voice coach, and teacher. Her professional acting credits include the Stratford Festival, the Blyth Festival, Bard on the Beach, the Belfry Theatre, and most major theatre companies in Alberta. Originally contracted for five years as an artist in residence by the University of Victoria, she is now a tenured faculty member balancing her teaching with professional acting and directing opportunities.

 

Show Dates
Tickets
Single ticket sales for this show begin February 5, 2019

Friday & Saturday Evenings 
All Seats $26

Tuesday to Thursday & Matinees
Adults $26
Seniors $21
Students $16

Call: 250-721-8000 or see Ticket information
Performed in the Chief Dan George Theatre

Cast & Creative team
Director Jan Wood
Set Design Matthew Wilkerson
Costume Designer Sasha Lazin
Lighting Designer Jaxun Maron
Sound Designer Logan Swain
Movement Director Treena Stubel
Stage Manager Bethany Bendall

CAST:
Helen: Georgia Duff
Poseidon: Brendan Elwell
Hecuba: Sarah Hunsberger
Cassandra: Emma Newton
Talthybius: Ted Angelo Ngkaion
Andromache: Joy Peters
Athena: Una Rekic
Menelaus: Ciaran Volke
Chorus:
Grace Fedorchuck, Hailee Friesen, Eva Hocking, Elena Kellis, Julie McGuire, Arielle Parsons, Una Rekic
Male Soldiers:
Davey Bastin-DeCoste, Chris Gaines, Glen Shafer

Lecture
Trojan Women: Heroes and their Victims
with Dr Laurel Bowman
UVic Department of Greek & Roman Studies
Recorded on Friday, February 15 at 7pm

In Trojan Women, Euripides shows us the consequences of war for defenceless non-combatants. The play was first performed during the thirty-year war between Athens and Sparta, before a largely military Athenian audience. Why did Euripides choose to produce this play, at this time, before this audience? How will that audience have reacted to the play? And how should we understand it ourselves?

Listen to lecture now:

Advisories
Suitable for ages 14+
Sensitive subject matter
Water-based atmospheric effects
Loud sound effects
PROGRAMME

Photography by Dean Kalyan