The Women of Troy

There's no decent way to say an indecent thing

An industrial port of a war-torn city. Women survivors wait to be shipped abroad. Officials come and go. A grandmother, once queen, watches as her remaining family are taken from her one by one. The city burns around them. First performed in 415BC, the play focuses on the human cost of war and the impact of loss.

This new Student Edition of The Women of Troy includes a commentary and notes by Emma Cole, which looks at the Trojan War as represented in Greek literature and myth; the context in which Euripides was writing and within which the play was first performed; how it would have been originally staged and dramaturgical challenges met; as well as recent performance history of the play, including Katie Mitchell's iconic 2007 production at the National Theatre.

Euripides' great anti-war play is published here in Don Taylor's classic translation.

Chronology

Commentary

1. Synopsis of the Trojan War:
a) timeline and key people
b) representation in ancient Greek literature
c) myth versus history debate

2. Introduction to Euripides, the play and the City Dionysia theatre festival where Euripides' plays were first performed:
a) his relation to Aeschylus and Sophocles
b) his status and success in antiquity
c) trademark dramaturgical qualities of Euripides' plays
d) transmission history of Euripides' plays

3. Original performance context including:
a) the institution of the City Dionysia and the physical space of the Theatre of Dionysus
b) performance conventions of Greek tragedy, including the mask and chorus
c) the individuals involved in producing and staging Greek drama in the C5th

4. Socio-political context including:
a) an introduction to the Peloponnesian War
b) an overview of the Sack of Melos in 416 BCE
c) an overview of debates regarding whether Euripides may have had time to be influenced by the Sack of Melos, and how this backdrop may have informed the audience's reading of the play

5. Modern reception history of the play including:
a) trends in the written translation and adaptation
b) modern performance history, including 6 key productions across a range of geographical locations and on a variety of scales. Focuses on contribution of directors, designers and performers
c) Don Taylor's translation in performance (Katie Mitchell's production at the Royal National Theatre, 2007)

PLAY TEXT

Further reading

Notes