Thursday, February 03, 2005
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CSF presents 'Troilus & Cressida'
By
Allyson Jacob
Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival (CSF) is taking a journey back to the Trojan War. The group will produce the Bard’s “Troilus & Cressida,” beginning Thursday, Feb. 17 and continuing through Sunday, March 6. This production marks the first time “Troilus & Cressida” will have been produced in the company’s 11 year history.
“I don’t understand why people don’t [produce ‘Troilus& Cressida’],” muses Brian Isaac Phillips, artistic director for CSF and director of the play. “It’s wonderful. There are no text problems, like with ‘Pericles.’ Maybe the cast size scares people off.”
The list of characters can read like the list of ships in Homer’s “Iliad.” Given the size of the CSF’s acting company, Phillips is relying on doubling and tripling of roles to fill out the cast. It’s not an unfamiliar practice at CSF, but he acknowledges that it can be challenging for audience members to follow which character a particular actor is playing at any given time.
“Because of the production design, it will be easy to tell when we’re inside Troy, or outside in the Greek camp,” Phillips states. “And with costumes, it will be easy to identify sides. There’s a strong differentiation. When you’re doing a show with 10-12 actors playing 40 roles, you have to make sure your audience follows what you’re doing.”
For audience members who are not scholars of Ancient Greece, or whose only recollection of the Trojan War involves a vague memory of a wooden horse, here’s a brief synopsis of Shakespeare’s plot:
In the seventh year of the war between the Trojans and Greeks, Troilus, a Trojan Prince, falls in love with Cressida, a Trojan woman whose father has defected to the Greeks. After confessing their love, they are broken apart by the politics of war when Cressida is exchanged for a Trojan prisoner. As the Greeks’ love of war rages on, Troilus and Cressida’s battle for love begins.
Of course, as with any Shakespearean play, there are numerous subplots that weave interesting developments into the main plot, and numerous characters who act as foils to the main protagonists. All of that should become clear as the play unfolds.
What should also become clear is Shakespeare’s indictment of the self-serving purposes of love and of war. Since “Troilus& Cressida” was never produced during his lifetime, Shakespeare never experienced any political fallout from the play.
“It is one of the most scathing looks into the best and the worst of all mankind has to offer,” Phillips states. “Shakespeare lays bare the self-interest that goes into war and into relationships. Everyone is trying to get something out of it. There’s nobody to like in the entire play—it doesn’t cater to anyone to make them happy.”
That’s quite a turnaround from the even-handed writing evident in “Henry V,” CSF’s last production.
“ ‘Henry V’ was much more middle of the road,” Phillips explains. “There’s no ‘good side’ in this play. It’s all very critical.”
Though he won’t draw firm lines between contemporary and historical events—“I guess the Trojan horse could have been a big weapon of mass destruction,” he quips—Phillips’ design concept for the show is decidedly contemporary. One of the main characters, Pandarus, who is typically personified as a “lecherous old uncle,” is being portrayed by Anita Ross.
“She has this fascinating look about her,” says Phillips. “The character she plays is like a cousin or aunt of Madame Heidi Fleiss.”
Phillips had no qualms about crossing genders for the production. “Women do serve in the military. That’s realistic to how we live now,” he states. “And by making the play contemporary, that allows us to change genders.”
As CSF readies itself to “play war,” Phillips counsels audiences to “expect the unexpected. This is the play I’m most excited about in the season,” he states. “People can see just how irreverent Shakespeare can be.”
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CSF presents 'Troilus & Cressida'
2/17/2005 - 2/20/2005, Downtown
CSF journeys into untamed waters with a production of 'Troilus & Cressida,' a play the company has never done before.
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CSF presents 'Troilus & Cressida'
2/24/2005 - 2/27/2005, Downtown
CSF journeys into untamed waters with a production of 'Troilus & Cressida,' a play the company has never done before.
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Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival presents Troilus & Cressida
3/4/2005 - 3/6/2005, Downtown
For the first time at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, see Shakespeare's satirical tale of love fighting for survival amid the politics of war. Troilus, a prince of Troy, loves the beautiful Cressida but can they resist the pressure to betray either their families or their countries? The countdown to completing the Canon continues...
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Allyson Jacob is a freelance writer and playwright living just outside of Cincinnati.
