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.>

Préface
This new Student Edition of The Women of Troy offers a much-needed pedagogical framework to the play, including an overview of the original performance context; the times within which Euripides was writing it; and how it's been understood and adapted since 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.

Auteur
Euripides was born near Athens between 485 and 480 BC. His first play was presented in 455 BC and he wrote some hundred altogether of which nineteen survive a greater number than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles combined and which include Alkestis, Medea, Bacchae, Hippolytos, Ion and Iphigenia at Aulis. He died in 406 BC. Don Taylor (1936-2003) was a playwright and poet, and a director of theatre, television and radio plays. He worked as drama director at the BBC, and between 1960 and 1990, he directed nearly a hundred television plays. He translated and directed for BBC Television the Theban plays of Sophocles Oedipus the King, Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus. He followed this with translations of three Euripides war plays Iphigenia at Aulis, The Women of Troy and Helen. He was co-director of Compass Theatre for while and set up First Writes Radio with Ellen Dryden. Don Taylor's many stage plays include The Roses of Eyam, The Exorcism, Daughters of Venice, Brotherhood, When the Actors Come, Retreat from Moscow, When the Barbarians Came and his last play The Road to the Sea. Emma Cole is Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is a classicist and a theatre and performance studies scholar. Her area of expertise lies in the performance of Greek tragedy in contemporary theatre and she has published extensively on this topic, as well as having worked in collaboration with various theatre companies and practitioners on related creative outputs.

Résumé
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.

Contenu
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