The Trojan Women

When men cannot control their anger, ruin spills out upon everything and everyone around them. So goes what’s been called the oldest story: the story of war. Emerging director Bobby Callaway’s take on a translation of the Euripidean tragedy focuses on male hubris, the atrocity and senselessness of battle, and the toll both ultimately take on the lives of the women after the fall of Troy. But wait: Is that a veteran of the Iraqi War among the conquered? And does a widow from World War II stand beside her? “Throughout history, these conflicts have been initiated by men,” observes producer Naveed Moeed. “Now it’s time for women to take their power back.” In a Bare Theatre production that breaks free from its original ancient setting, the women of Troy and other conflicts across the centuries find agency when the goddess Athena’s displeasure is not deferred. —Byron Woods