Phoenix Festival DIGITAL Playbill 2024 (2) - Flipbook - Page 8
KEY TO THE CHARACTERS IN A TROJAN WOMAN
made for your reference from the playwright Sara Farrington
POSEIDON: The Greek God of the sea, weather, waves. A mercurial, moody god.
Troy is his city, he made it. Represented here by a bottle of water.
ATHENA: The Greek Goddess of war, handicraft and reason. She designed the Trojan
Horse with the Greek warrior Odysseus as a sneaky way to get into Troy. Represented
here by a metal pipe.
HECUBA, QUEEN OF TROY: The Queen of the newly vanquished city of Troy. She
is mother to 19 children (some translations say 50) but the ones mentioned in the play
are Polyxena, Cassandra, Paris & Hector. Represented here by a plastic laundry basket.
THE CHORUS: The Chorus is there to give information, to sing, to move the story
along. Although most Greek plays have a chorus, Euripides’ depiction of The Chorus
in The Trojan Women was unique in that they are the portraying victims of war, the
Trojan women. In the original the chorus is many, for my purposes they are 2, represented by 2 umbrellas.
TALTHYBIUS: The Messenger, aka The Herald from the Greek Army. He brings news
of what’s happening offstage. Most Greek plays have a messenger, but again, Eurpides
has broken ground with Talthybius: he has an emotional arc here, a uniquely human
messenger. Represented by a clipboard, customer service headset and stool.
CASSANDRA: Daughter of Hecuba, raped in the Temple of Athena by the Greek
Warrior Ajax. She has been chosen as Agamemnon’s new sex slave. Before the war,
Cassandra rejected Apollo’s advances, so he famously cursed her with the ability to see
a future no one would ever believe. Represented by a camping lantern.
ANDROMACHE: Wife of Hector, daughter-in-law to Hecuba, mother to Astyanax. I
think Andromache is the moral center of the play. Also, Euripides speci昀椀cally gave her
the only real dramatic action of the play. Represented by a folding stroller.
HELEN OF TROY (aka HELEN OF SPARTA): Queen of Sparta, wife to King Menelaus of Sparta, kidnapped (maybe?) by Hecuba’s son, Paris. The “cause” of The Trojan
War. Represented by a length of chain.
MENELAUS: King of Sparta, husband of Helen, brother to Agamemnon (King of
Greece). Macho, but insecure. Represented by a damaged bicycle helmet.
