BATESVILLE — The Harlequin Theatre spring production of The Trojan Women begins its four-day run Thursday, Feb. 17, in Holloway Theatre on the Lyon College campus.
The classical Greek tragedy portrays the brutality of war by depicting it through the lives of women whose cities are at war.
The play is based on the battle between the Greeks and the Trojans. The play explores the effects of the war on the women back home and the way that they cope with the war.
According to director Michael Counts, the play was updated to reflect the current state of world affairs, noting that the anti-war theme of the play easily resonates with people today.
“I didn’t want to do a Greek play for the sake of doing it,” Counts said, “And most people are against these wars.”
To complement the dark tone of the play, the set design will feature some debris from the fire of Edwards Commons. Set designer Collin Brown decided to use the debris when he realized that gathering metal work and bricks would be far easier and less time consuming than manually destroying materials to be used in the play.
Brown explained that the actors will be placed in a circle in the middle of the theater. The floor will be littered with blackened items, such as a soup ladle and various chair springs. Brown collected several other charred items that will appear in the play, most notably a charred chair from the president’s dining room. Fake blood will be splattered on the wall to further the devastation of the play.
“I wanted to create a space that’s not only been devastated but that is imprisoning as well,” Brown said.
Students Justin Holmes, Lauren Bass, Kelsey Lack, Lauren Holt, Victor Wilson, Kelley Wyatt, Nina McCoy, Logan Watkins, Vivian Onyekwelu and Arthur Gilbert will star in the show.
Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, through Saturday, Feb. 19, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20.
All Lyon faculty, staff and students are admitted free.
Call (870) 307-7510 for reservations.