Theatre / alex york
Review: The Trojan Women, Bristol Old Vic
Written in 415 BC, Euripides’ The Trojan Women dealt with the aftermath of the war between Greece and Troy as imagined in Homer’s Odyssey, and its ramifications on the women left behind.
In Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s modernised version, directed by the esteemed Sally Cookson, there is little sign of Troy. Instead, eight women stand in the midst of a bombed-out rubble after a bitter civil war, wearing their dead husbands’ army jackets like armour as they wait to hear what the conquering soldiers will do with them.
Cookson, in combination with Brendan Kennelly’s modern adaptation, presents us with a contemporary version that reflects our troubled, war-torn times. This could be Syria, or Egypt. Hecuba (Hannah Bristow), former Queen of Troy, attempts to hold the women together as they wait, in torn slips and combat boots, for the Greek messenger Talthybius (Alex York) to deliver news of their fate. Which Greek heroes’ beds will they now warm?
They express their anguish at each heart-wrenching announcement from Talthybius as a chorus, spruced up from the traditional Greek with singing and spoken-word poetry – rap, almost – and using their bodies as instruments. They beat their chests, they sigh, they quiver, shake and exhale loudly with palpable suffering, creating layers of beautifully noisy pain.
However, as effective as this is in conveying a sense of despair, therein lies the problem with this ancient play. It is an unrelenting tour de force of despair, and it is so heightened with pain from the start that it doesn’t have an upward trajectory. Certainly, this is a meaty production with some exceptional acting on display (Eleanor Jackson’s troubled Cassandra stands out), and it presents audiences with important ideas about the victims of war: but without any progression to proceedings it is difficult to continuously engage and reflect on this.
The production works best when there is a break in the suffering: a well-staged showdown between Menelaus (Maanuv Thiara), his treacherous bride Helen (Michelle Fox), and Hecuba, raising important questions about who is to blame for the deaths of all these men, as well as letting the actors show some nuance as they engage in a battle of wills.
This is certainly a hard production to watch – which is why it is so important – but at times the message can get lost in the melodrama.
The Trojan Women continues at Bristol Old Vic until Saturday, March 12. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/trojanwomen.html
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