The stage lights of Kenmore Middle School open on the sounds of war, screams, and something that sounds like distant gunfire. Then the women come out. This is the beginning of Washington-Lee High School’s production of "The Trojan Women," translated from the adaptation of Euripides’ Greek tragedy.
"The Trojan Women" is often considered one of the first anti-war plays ever written, and has been put on for countless audiences since its premiere in 415 BCE. It starts at the final moments of the Trojan War. The great prince Hector is dead, and all the men, old and young, have been slaughtered by the Greeks. All that remains of Troy are its women, led by the queen Hecuba. The Greeks are deciding what is to be done with the women, and dealing with other issues, like whether to kill Helen, the woman that started the war.
Washington-Lee created something different with their version of the play and, while staying faithful to the translation, made it their own. The look of the production has no real era, and leaves the setting and time period open for the audience's view. Everything about the play is broken and ravaged; the combined despair of all the Trojan women creates a feeling of hopelessness and anger that carries the play's two acts without wavering, even though it is sometimes marred with overacted cries and performances that switch on and off.
The play only had one lead, one central character: Queen Hecuba. Anne Donnelly did an excellent job of portraying the queen, and her anger towards the Gods and the Greeks was powerful. Her voice was strong and had a wide range of emotions, but occasionally her physicality of an old woman wasn’t clear.
The ensemble of the Trojan women was the highlight of the production. They seemed to have a real bond like that of women that had known each other their whole lives, and were going through the same crisis. The highlights of these women were Cassandra (Morgan Sendeck), the Queen’s daughter who, after the ransacking of Troy, had gone completely insane, and Andromeda (Rebecca Pratt), the wife of Hector, whose son is killed. The god Poseidon (Ahmad Helmy), who comments on the actions of the mortals was also exceptional, with a dark loud voice that showed anger with never having to yell.
The set was well designed and put together, but did not look like anything in particular, just a platform. The production had a constant ambience track that added well to the play, and a great use of lighting in the first act.
The play had a well-utilized ensemble, and was, as an ensemble piece, quite good. Its different take on era and setting made it all the more interesting, despite sometimes bumpy performances from the actors. A fine job by Washington Lee High School.
<b>By John Morgan </b>
Wakefield High School
<i>Cappies is a high school critics and awards program involving more than 50 schools in the Virginia, Maryland and D.C. areas.</i>