Sunday Nov 21, 2021
4:00 PM - 6:30 PM EST
November 21, 2021 4:00-6:30 pm
Traveling Players Studio, Tysons Corner Center
$20
Jeanne Harrison
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Traveling Players Presents: Hecuba by Euripides, translated by Kenneth McLeish
The Trojan War is over, and Troy is in ruins. Queen Hecuba is reduced to slavery, obeying the Greek victors, Odysseus and Agamemnon. Hecuba’s only hope is that her two remaining children survive. But first the Greeks want her daughter Polyxena sacrificed to honor Achilles’ grave, and then she discovers her son Polydorus has been treacherously murdered. Having lost everything and overwhelmed by grief, Hecuba seeks revenge. Haunted by ghosts and Gods, Hecuba explores the aftermath of war, shifting alliances, and sins committed in the name of “justice.”
McLeish’s language is crisp, vital, warm, and compelling — not your turgid classical poetry, but rather language that sparkles off the page. “Euripides left his actors a great deal of creative space,” explains McLeish. “He allowed them, so to speak, to fill in the thought between the words — and translations should follow, not reverse, this trend.” The result is language that chronicles interactions of profound honesty, giving our actors the challenge that they desire, while telling stories that transcend the ages. McLeish’s language is just waiting for our actors to breathe life back into it, and Hecuba’s story is unforgettable!