Trojan Women' uses dramatic arts to question war with Iraq

"There were a lot of us who were feeling very helpless and silent in our opposition to the war [with Iraq]," director of The Trojan Women Virginia Johnson said. The play will be performed this Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. in the Balch Arena Theater. In staging this production, Johnson's goal is to "produce something with those feelings of anxiety" and ultimately yield something constructive in the midst of a myriad of destructive current events.

As the annual Department of Drama and Dance minor production, The Trojan Women seeks to fulfill a greater role than entertainment. "We in the Drama Department needed a creative way of speaking out against the war in Iraq," Johnson said. "I saw a production of The Trojan Women last year after the war in Afghanistan and was struck with how appropriate this adaptation of the script [by Eric Hill]" is to contemporary society.

The Trojan Women, by Euripides, tells the story of the Trojan War's effect on the women of the destroyed and conquered city of Troy. There is a bitter irony underlying the surviving women's pain because of the cause of the war itself: another woman, Helen. Helen ran off with Paris, son of the King and Queen of Troy, and in doing so left her own husband, Menelaus, king of the Greeks. Helen's choice launches a brutal and violent war between the two nations.

The Trojan Women begins where the war formally ends, following the episode of the Trojan horse. Troy is burning, utterly destroyed, and only its women have survived. Not only must the women deal with the loss of their husbands, sons, and city, but they are now to become the slaves of the conquering Greeks. Furthermore, the story of The Trojan Women draws parallels to the current war in which the United States is engaged.

In casting the production, Johnson has chosen to fill all of the play's roles - even the male ones - with female performers. "I didn't want the production to seem like women in war are only victims. Women can be powerful. Women can be hawks. Women are multifaceted," Johnson reflected.

It was also "very important" to Johnson to make sure that the entire Tufts community was represented in cast. "We have a cross-section of students: different years, majors, levels of acting experience. We have an actress from the Somerville community who isn't a Tufts student. We have a staff member [Susanna Brown]. And we even have a faculty member on stage."

The faculty member is Barbara Grossman, chair of the Department of Drama and Dance. In her leading role as Hecuba in this production, Grossman is making her Tufts acting debut. "I have always loved this play and was really happy to learn that Virginia was directing it," Grossman said. "I felt it was good for the department to deal with the tragedy in a time of global insanity."

Grossman notes, however, that she had "no intent for trying out. Then shortly before auditions, Virginia said to me, 'I need a Hecuba.' I then went and made a big list of all the reasons why not to audition. Finally, I thought, 'Why not?' I auditioned, and Virginia cast me!"

"There's always been war; there will always be war," Grossman said. "But I am thankful for the opportunity to express concern about war, to give people the opportunity to reflect on their own about the world events the play helps to illuminate."

Furthermore, Grossman emphasized that The Trojan Women deals with more than just sorrow and grief. "She's a survivor," Grossman said of her character, Hecuba, Queen of Troy. "I admire that about her: her courage despite destruction."

"I am very excited to see how people have taken on different roles in their involvement with the production," Johnson said. Johnson, for example, is a faculty member and the costume designer in residence for the Department of Drama and Dance - in this production she serves as director. Grossman, Chair of the Department who frequently directs, is acting. Theatre manager Joanne Barnett is The Trojan Women's producer.

"In silence is death," says Hecuba to the women of Troy during The Trojan Women. This line underscores the sentiment of the script as a whole, and the attitudes of Johnson and her cast and crew. "Voices of dissent and questioning come from all corners of the University," Johnson said. The Trojan Women not only allows these voices to be heard and shared artistically with the Tufts community, but also prompts others to engage in discussion and question current events and the present war.



The Trojan Women runs Wednesday, April 23 in the Balch Arena Theatre. Performances are at 6 pm and 10 pm. All performances are free.