What I liked
Adapter and director Olivia Buntaine makes some quiet, bold choices. She makes Eris, the goddess of strife, the narrator; her ironic coldness shocks us, as we share the women’s suffering. Buntaine, with movement director Christine Breihan, also creates an unobtrusive ballet that ends in a breathtaking image.
Designer Cameron Rose shapes the space with washtubs, and cloth hanging on clotheslines. This lets Eris introduce the others in a memorable device, and keeps the women busy repeating tasks from their vanished world.
Each actor carves a distinct character from clear choices, and most handle the poetry with clarity and force.
What I didn't like
Some actors tended to rush — and/or swallow the ends of — speeches.
My overall impression
“Trojan Women” is a formidable challenge –the characters are from a world 3,000 years gone, they speak in elevated poetry, and their story is relentlessly painful. Project Nongenue’s dedication and artistry give us an hour of terrible empathy that will not allow us to forget these women — nor the ones who suffer in refugee camps and prisons all over our world.
