Reviews

Written by three women, Trojan Whores is a play about three females who are stereotyped by history: Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world and the cause of the Trojan Wars; the submissive wife of Odysseus, Penelope, who waits faithfully at home for 20 years for her husband to return from the war; and Klytemnestra, who drowns her husband, Agamemnon, in his bath when he comes home from the wars.

They all meet on an island where they come to escape their pasts, but will they change their fate? Trojan Whores explores what it is to accept, celebrate and transform the roles that are given to women.

Grand opening

As the audience filters in to take their seats an elderly lady is already positioned on the stage, sitting on a wooden chest and rocking gently, with her back to us. Her home is on the beach and shoreline and she’s created a living area with what few belongings she’s brought with her.

The sound of the sea and the sense of being on an island are recreated effectively with the rhythmic sound of shells being dragged along the shoreline as the waves break calmly. It's highly atmospheric and works beautifully.

The lights dim and the play commences with the elderly lady chattering a monologue as she searches for food brought in by the waves. This is Helen of Troy, as we gradually discover, and we learn the status of her mind: Beauty kills and creates war and destruction.

Actress Pauline Dent, one of the founder members of Woven, plays Helen as a realist and cynic about love and men, the paradox of what you might expect Helen to be like.

Enter a second character, Penelope, who asserts her presence on the self-imposed isolation of Helen by rearranging the 'furniture', placing her possessions around the 'home'. Helen is incensed but either can't or doesn't stop the other woman.

Penelope is concerned that her beautiful rug must be clearly seen from a distance so that her husband will know where to come when he returns from the war. It turns out that she is not as assertive as she would like Helen to believe.

Penelope is riddled with insecurities about her missing husband, but hides it well by ascertaining that she defended her husband’s honour by staying true and waiting for him at home all these years.

Anni Meehan, who plays Penelope, puts on a brave face and brings empathy to the role, so the audience doesn't blame her for her submissiveness to her husband, but understands it.

Two's company, three's a crowd

A third character storms onto the stage and dramatically sinks herself into a rock pool. She’s highly disturbed and we learn that this is Klytemnestra, the harridan, who drowned her husband.

She’s reliving the scene in her mind. We also learn that she and Helen are sisters with a troubled relationship.

Penelope is confused by their hurtful relationship towards each other, but the sisters soon turn on her and threaten to drown her on the shoreline. This is the most dramatic point of the play and the terror of Penelope is spine chilling to watch.

Trojan Whores

They soon feel pity for Penelope and she is reprieved. Dawn Rose’s portrayal of Klytemnestra is strong and vulnerable at the same time.

The plot is basically about three famous women and their inner nightmares, insecurities, beliefs, what makes them strong, what makes them weak, what drives them and how they've resolved conflict with themselves and the outside world.

All three characters are played competently and persuasively by the actresses. As a member of the audience, I truly was dragged into their world, both on the island, and in their reminiscing of former lives.

Written by Peppy Barlow, Dawn Rose and Sally Wilden, the play's style is poetic and full of vivid imagery that paints visuals of pain, the sea, sex and love. The dialogue can turn on its heels and be very blunt with everyday swearing by the characters – well Helen actually. You wouldn't expect to hear Helen of Troy cussing about life and men!

Simple but effective

The set is very simple but effective and works wonderfully well. There are rocks to sit on and a washing line made of bamboo, sand is scattered across the stage and shells are used for plates. The shoreline is recreated at the front of the stage with fishermen’s nets with bits of crab and seashells and driftwood caught up in them.

Helen has created male 'companions' in the form of palm tree-like stick figures, which listen attentively to her monologues whilst she’s been alone for years. It's quite comical, but sad at the same time, for she has chosen this life.

We learn from the play that the past follows us, even though people might not seem as they are.