NYC-based company
Stop the Wind Theatricals premiered their original one-act solo version of Euripides'
The Trojan Women in 2023 in Athens, where the story originated a few millennia ago. The show is now embarking on a tour of US Sanctuary Cities, beginning right here in Minneapolis, where the opening scene which repeats the line "they don't kill civilians" is particularly affecting (because we know from recent experience that they do). Director Meghan Finn notes in the program that Euripides' play is "the first recorded ani-war play." Nearly two and a half centuries later,
A Trojan Woman continues to be relevant and necessary. Wars, violence, and the killing of civilians hasn't stopped. I've recently been watching
History Channel's excellent new WWII docuseries narrated by Tom Hanks, and during the deadliest war in history they most certainly did kill civilians. They killed civilians in Poland, Germany, London, China, the Soviet Union, not by accident, but as an intentional strategy to wear down the enemy, or to get rid of people they thought threatening. This play is about the survivors, particularly the women, of the Trojan War, but this version feels like it could be about any of the numerous wars playing out across the globe today. Despite the short 70-minute runtime,
A Trojan Woman is a powerful and epic journey that feels devastating in its modernity.
Mixed Blood Theatre is hosting the production in their firehouse theater through this Sunday only.
