Hecuba

Synopsis

Hecuba is a moving, bitter tragedy about the interrelations between those who hold power and those who suffer it. It is the slaughter of Hecuba's daughter Polyxena and the discovery of the body of her son Polydorus which leads to Hecuba's progress from grief to despair, as confronted by her tormentors, she is forced to yield her dignity, her values and her self-respect. Her humanity destroyed, she takes revenge so hideously brutal, she is transformed into "the bitch of Cyrossema"

Our Review:

8 April 2005

Any party in the coming election that proposed a law banning theatre directors from using the Gulf War as a reference point would be doing theatregoers a service.

Laurence Boswell’s production of Tony Harrison’s modern adaptation of Euripides’ harrowing tragedy certainly doesn’t hold back from drawing parallels with modern events, particularly when Darrell D'Silva’s Odysseus addresses Hecuba in the instantly recognisable cadences of George W Bush.

It’s over-spicing this Greek feast: Euripides’ play has plenty to enthral the modern audience, Harrison’s fine translation supplies the necessary political touches and modern parallels (when Odysseus proclaims that “democracy demands a human sacrifice”, one can already hear the measured tones of a consummate politician), so the Bush impersonation adds nothing to the impact. (It’s also a questionable move politically; as the smooth fixer of the Greek camp, Odysseus is surely more of a Blair or Powell figure anyway).

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Latest User Review

12.107.15.2) - 19 April 2005:

Vanessa Redgrave is never not worth watching, but little else is tolerable in this dreary production. The translation is mediocre at best, and every chorus song sounds alike (and there are lots of them)....

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