An adaptation of Euripides’ Women of Troy will be part of Tasmania’s Ten Days on the Island arts festival this week, bringing to life the ancient Greek tragedy with a contemporary commentary on the refugee experience.
The play, adapted by Barrie Kosky and Tom Wright, and directed by Ben Winspear, features actors from around Australia and New Zealand and a unique musical score composed by Katie Noonan with words by Behrouz Boochani.
Boochani is a Kurdish-Iranian writer who sought asylum in Australia but eventually settled in New Zealand. He spent almost seven years detained in an Australian off-shore detention centre after fleeing ethnic persecution in Iran and attempting to arrive in Australia via boat from Indonesia.
The detention years he spent locked up on Manus island informed his award-winning autobiographical account No Friend But the Mountains.
Speaking to ABC, Boochani said it was inevitable to revisit his experience as a displaced person seeking protection in Australia when writing the poems for the Women of Troy chorus.
“For this work, I really didn’t want to particularly write about refugees who come to Australia but of course, I couldn’t get away from my experience as someone who got in a boat and went to Australia.
“It was quite difficult emotionally because I had to go through that experience that I had and also all of the stories that I witnessed, the stories that I heard in that context,” Boochani said.
The adaptation brings the timeless ancient play of Euripides vis a vis the contemporary reality of displaced people reaching record numbers globally.
Retelling the tale of Athens’ invasion and enslavement of the people of Melos aims to portray the true cost of war, then and now, and how women and children are the ones who suffer the most.
“Women of Troy is one of the most important pieces of theatre ever made, the fact that it still speaks to us thousands of years later is testament to the intelligence of the writer,” said director Ben Winspear, and praised Boochani’s contemporary twist: “The more I hear the songs sung by the chorus, the more I believe that Behrouz could have been part of the original writing team of this piece two and a half thousand years ago.”
The production is partnering with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), to raise awareness and money for its work.
Women of Troy runs for seven performances from 8 to 12 March.
At the end of the performance, attendees will be asked for donations.
For more information visit www.theatreroyal.com.au/shows/women-troy
