Women Of Troy Digital Program

ARCHIPELAGO PRODUCTIONS AND TEN DAYS ON THE ISLAND IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE THEATRE ROYAL PRESENT

WOMEN OF TROY

TEN DAYS ON THE ISLAND 2023

Image: Brook Rushton

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

There is an awe in hearing the words of an author two and a half thousand years dead spoken again by the living.

Greek tragedy is deeply rooted in the ceremonies of sacrifice and resurrection, so it is right that here Euripides uses the voices of the dead to harry and provoke not just the audiences of his own era, but all societies that have used war as an expression of might since.

This is not a piece that reels from the shock of the new but rather the shock of the ancient.

That little has changed in our readiness to inflict pain on one another, that that pain was as real to the humans of that age as it is to ours, that they mourned, bargained, cursed, fought, and survived as we do now, that we knew as much about the cost and futility of conflict then as now, shows us that we are possibly not the modern, enlightened beings we like to think ourselves.

The Athens in which Euripides wrote was still recovering from the dark ages which many attributed to the long and costly war with the Trojans, almost a millennium earlier. That the author chose as the heroines of the piece, the captive women, and not the victorious soldiers speaks clearly to Euripides’ sympathies, and is seen as a condemnation of the militarisation and war crimes of his own people. In this play we have Euripides, from the victorious culture, writing for a vanquished girl (Cassandra) expressing sorrow for the Greek mothers who have lost their sons in an empty victory over her city. The depth of empathy and understanding that runs through this work is as extraordinary in its passion as it is in its wisdom, and with its fury, is one of the reasons that thousands of years after it was written it continues to speak to us with such urgency and honesty.

A special thanks to Asha Ram for creating real impact, and to Behrouz, Amir, and Katie for their incredible insights into the work and for trusting us with their creations, and Barry and Tom for allowing us to use their extraordinary words. Every day of working on this text has revealed new and deeper dimensions to these characters, their thoughts, their ingenuity, their bravery and loss. In a world in which over one hundred million people face an almost identical set of circumstances, this play from one of the earliest moments in Western theatre still has the power to provoke and inspire.

– Ben Winspear

CAST

Hecuba: Sarah Peirse

Cassandra: Jane Johnson

Andromache: Marta Dusseldorp

Helen: Angela Mahlatjie

Menelaus: Guy Hooper

Guard: Christopher Bunworth

Boy: Harrison Harvey

Chorus: Frida Barclay, Caitlin Berwick, Sophia Caletti, Alex ChatwinDalgleish, Sheridan Collis Oates, Florence Cousens, Lilly Cousens, Bridget Cousens, Gabby Cousins, Amanda Hodder, Megan Kenna, Hannah May, Pamela Monk, Finnie River, Poppy Robinson, Emma Rohrlach, Meg Tait, Grace Winspear, Maggie Winspear, Catrina Boon

Understudies: Hecuba - Noreen Le Mottee, Cassandra - Milla Chaffer, Andromache/Helen - Caitlin Berwick

CREATIVE TEAM

Director: Ben Winspear

Chorus text: Behrouz Boochani

Translator: Amir Ahmadi Arian

Choral Composer: Katie Noonan

Chorus Director: Amanda Hodder

Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper

Set Design: LIMINAL Spaces

Stage Manager: Finn Carter

Assistant Stage Manager: Milla Chaffer

LYRICS

COMMISSIONED

FOR ARCHIPELAGO’S PRODUCTION OF WOMEN OF TROY

Written by: Behrouz Boochani

Translated by: Amir Ahmadi Arian

1

With their green teeth

The wild horses grazed

Through the misty meadows.

The girls of the wind sauntered

Across the golden wheat fields.

The children built a pond of wood and mud

Around the orchard’s oldest walnut tree

To keep the water flowing around the trunk

They watch it seeping down to the deepest root

The village where it all happened

Is now razed to the ground

The dark clouds fell

The silvery maples fell

The fig trees dried out

The water of the stream turned red.

Only love made it out of the ruins

It crawled over the mountaintop

Down to the bottom of the valley

It touched the deepest depth of a cave

Held out through hunger and homelessness

Across minefield borders

All the way to the ocean, which lay untrammeled and pristine Its boats the last safe place in the world.

The Lyrics, music and more information about this production here:

BIOGRAPHIES

SARAH PEIRSE

Sarah Peirse is one of New Zealand and Australia’s most respected and awarded actresses. Her theatre work includes performances with STC, MTC and Belvoir Theatre. Her television credits include the Foxtel/Binge series Love Me, ABC/Netflix drama Stateless, Netflix series Sweet Tooth, ABC/Netflix comedy The Letdown, Network Ten’s Offspring, and MTV’s The Shannara Chronicles. In 2023 she will feature in the Acorn TV/TVNZ series Under the Vines with Rebecca Gibney. Her film credits include Nude Tuesday, Mortal Engines, The Hobbit Trilogy, The Navigator, Heavenly Creatures and Rain.

JANE JOHNSON

Jane is an actress and director and has worked with most Tasmanian performing arts organisations. She was a founding member and co-artistic director of Mudlark Theatre and was founder of the Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble. Jane was the joint 2020 recipient of the Tasmanian Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance in Professional Theatre for The Mares (Tasmanian Theatre Company and Ten Days on the Island).

MARTA DUSSELDORP

Award-winning actress Marta Dusseldorp has worked extensively in theatre, film and television for over 30 years and is one of Australia’s most recognised actresses. She has worked with all the major theatre companies in Australia and is the Director of Archipelago Productions. She has co-created Bay Of Fires with Andrew Knight and Max Dann. The eight part television series mainly shot on the West Coast of Tasmania will be premiering on ABCTV this year.

ANGELA MAHLATJIE

Angela is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She has appeared on stage and screen, most recently in Pieces of Her for Netflix, Itch and The Heights on ABCMe and ABCTV. She has performed with the Sydney Theatre Company and the Tempest Theatre as well as contributing her voice to the United Nations 75th Anniversary Global Conversation campaign.

GUY HOOPER

Guy has been a performer, deviser, director and teacher of theatre for over 35 years. He has studied at Sydney University and La Trobe University and trained at the Philippe Gaulier’s London School of Performance. Guy was the lecturer in Theatre and Drama at La Trobe University and currently teaches theatre at the University of Tasmania

CHRISTOPHER BUNWORTH

Chris co-founded The Telluride Repertory Theatre Company in Colorado, performing numerous roles in Macbeth, Petruchio, Tartuffe and NOSFERATU which toured New York and India in 2000. TV credits include roles on Beaconsfield, Winner’s and Loser’s, Underbelly (Tell Them Lucifer Was Here), Killing Time, Bed of Roses and Neighbours. Film credits include Crime & Punishment, Cut Snake, Predestination, Vessel, Cryptopticon, 3 Dollars, The Independent, Em 4 Jay and Scrapple.

HARRISON HARVEY

A promising young actor from Hobart, Harrison is dedicated to his craft. He is passionate about exploring the human condition through acting. He believes that the stage provides a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of another person and consider their life experiences.

BEN WINSPEAR -DIRECTOR

As a director Ben has steered a number of new productions for Sydney Theatre Company, NIDA, UNSW, STC, Big Monkey, Ten Days on the Island, Downstairs Belvoir, Tas Theatre Co and Blue Cow. As Associate Artist for Griffin Theatre he was Associate Director on Gloria, directed Feather in the Web, and for three years was responsible for running the artist development programs there. For Archipelago Productions he has conceived of and directed six productions as well as adapting /directing Favel Parrett’s novel Past the Shallows as an experimental feature length film. He was director’s attachment for episodes 1 - 4 on the Archipelago/Fremantle TV production Bay of Fires, has just completed a short film as part of the Grit Project run by Wide Angle Tasmania, and will direct the upcoming The Carbon Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable Enviroteens by First Dog On the Moon.

BEHROUZ BOOCHANI

Behrouz Boochani is an award-winning Kurdish-Iranian writer, journalist, scholar, cultural advocate and filmmaker. His memoir No Friend But the Mountains (Pan Macmillan 2018, trans. Omid Tofighian) was written during his seven years of incarceration by the Australian government in Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island prison. His new book, Freedom, Only Freedom, will be published by Bloomsbury in November 2022.

AMIR AHMADI ARIAN

Iran journalist Amir Ahmadi Arian has published two novels, a collection of stories, and a book of nonfiction in Persian. He has translated from English to Persian novels by E.L Doctorow, Paul Auster, P.D. James, and Cormac McCarthy. He lives in New York City where he teaches literature and creative writing. His first novel in English, Then The Fish Swallowed Him, was published by HarperVia/HarperCollins in March 2020.

KATIE NOONAN

Over the past 20 years, five-time ARIA award-winning artist Katie Noonan has proven herself one of Australia’s most hardworking, versatile and prolific artists. Named one of the greatest Australian singers of all time by the Herald Sun, Katie has produced 21 albums throughout her career, with seven times platinum record sales under her belt and 28 ARIA award nominations that span diverse genres.

AMANDA HODDER

Amanda has worked as accompanist, vocal coach, pianist and music director with Opera Australia, OzOpera, VCA, Opera Queensland, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Australian Musical Theatre Festival, Ten Days On The Island, Mona Foma and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. She previously worked with Archipelago on their award winning adaptation of Schubert’s Winterreise. Amanda is also a passionate advocate for community group singing, running the Hobart Glee Club

NICK SCHLIEPER (LIGHTING DESIGNER)

Nick Schlieper has designed for all the major performing companies in Australia and works regularly internationally. One of Australia’s most highly awarded designers, he’s received seven Sydney Critic’s Awards, six Melbourne Green Room Awards and 5 Helpmann Awards. He has worked with STC, MTC and lit numerous productions for Opera Australia, Belvoir St and Bangarra. International work includes productions in Salzburg London, Vienna, Paris, Oslo, New York and Tokyo

LIMINAL SPACES

Peta Heffernan and Elvio Brianese lead the globally acclaimed design and architecture company, LIMINAL Studio. LIMINAL Spaces captures the boutique and performance design identity of the Studio, noted for collaborations in contemporary performances, exhibitions, festivals and participation influencing cultural policy frameworks. Their work on The Bleeding Tree, presented by Archipelago Productions in 2021 won them numerous design awards.

FINN CARTER (SM)

FFinn Carter is a theatre and festival freelancer who has worked on a wide array of theatre productions and arts projects, which include work with Dark Mofo, Mona Foma and The Unconformity aswell as theatre directing. His latest theatre credits include Enlightenment with Elbow Room Theatre Melbourne, and The Old Man and The Old Moon, with Jack Lark Presents.

MILLA CHAFFER (ASM AND UNDERSTUDY)

Milla is a Tasmanian festival and theatre freelancer who has been working in theatre for over four years both onstage and offstage. Her stage-managing credits include The Old Man and the Old Moon (Jack Lark Presents, 2021), Crave (The Theatre Closet, 2021), The 39 Steps (Hobart Repertory Theatre Society, 20

NORREEN LA MOTTE (UNDERSTUDY)

One of Tasmania’s most versatile veteran performers Noreen has played an enviable variety of roles across all genres. On film and television she is credited as an actor, voice-over artist and puppeteer. She has performed and contributed to over 100 major productions and was inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women for her service to the arts. In 2018 she was presented with the Tasmanian Theatre Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

CAITLIN BERWICK (UNDERSTUDY)

Caitlin Berwick is an actress, vocalist and writer. Caitlin has performed and composed original music and rearrange torch song classic hits for the first chapter in Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy - ‘International Stud’. She is currently writing her first long form drama series; she has understudied in Jean Genet’s ‘The Maids’ with Marta Dusseldorp and Essie Davis, ‘Women of Troy’ with Marta Dusseldorp, Sarah Peirse and a plethora of Tasmanian talent, before performing in the world premiere of First Dog on the Moon’s environmentally friendly production of The Carbon Neutral Adventures of The Indefatigable Enviroteens.

ABOUT ARCHIPELAGO PRODUCTIONS

Embedded in the remote islands of lutruwita/Tasmania, the award winning Archipelago Productions is inspired by the resourcefulness and resilience of this place to produce original works of strange beauty and power. Seeing the world from afar affords perspective, and the remoteness of this little seen or understood landscape gives clarity and drive to all our projects.

As an emerging, artist led company, all our works are chosen for their integrity and nurtured with care. We strive to honour the vision of our collaborators and to use the limitless potential of our extraordinary location to tell stories that feed the soul.

The ambition of the company is to defy categorisation into form or content by creating film, television, festival presentations and theatre that can reach the widest audience possible, from in room experiences, to those that travel the world. Archipelago creates original content that consistently inspires and delights.

Our recent slate includes Bay of Fires (8 part television series with ABC and Fremantle International), Past the Shallows (feature film), and Grit film (documentary). With a string of further originals in development, Archipelago Productions is forging a path to a vibrant future.

ASSOCIATED TALKS

WOMEN OF TROY – FERMENTING DISSENT

SAT 11 MAR 4PM

IAN POTTER RECITAL HALL FREE

The role of women in leading civil uprisings and revolts has been well documented. From Boudicca to the 17th and 18th century food riots, to the suffragette movement to Iran, Ukraine and #meToo, women have been at the heart of community uprising and social change. Archipelago’s Women of Troy celebrates and extends the Euripides play to recognise the contemporary realties of fighting oppression and grass roots change, ultimately reflecting Marx’s observation the “great social revolutions are impossible without the feminine ferment”.

UNHCR

Australia for UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency’s partner in Australia, raising funds and awareness to support refugees and displaced people around the world. With an unprecedented 103 million people now displaced globally – mostly women and children – your support is needed more than ever. Australia for UNHCR is grateful to the team from Women of Troy for its support. Funds raised will deliver life-saving aid to women and children fleeing the war in Ukraine. Your donation can provide safe shelter, cash assistance and psychosocial support to families in need.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Archipelago Productions would like to thank Asha Ram, Brook Rushton and Tjerk Dusseldorp.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Marta Dusseldorp: Producer/Artist, Women of Troy, Archipelago Productions

Behrouz Boochani: Journalist, human rights defender, writer, Women of Troy

Prof Kate Darian Smith: Pro Vice-Chancellor, College of Arts, Law and Education, University of Tasmania

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Every part of Australia is, always was and always will be, Aboriginal land. As a community gathering-place, a festival of arts, cultural exchange and celebration and as a site for the sharing of ideas and stories, Ten Days on the Island pays respect to the Palawa/Tasmanian Aborigines –The original owners and cultural custodians – of all the lands and waters across Lutruwita/Tasmania upon which our Festival takes place.