Theatres of Peace and Protest: The Continuing Influence of Euripides' Play 'The Trojan Women' at the Nexus of Social Justice and Theatre Practice

Abstract

During November 2004 the State Theatre Company of South Australia mounted a new adaptation of Euripides' 'The Trojan Women' as part of their 2004 mainstage subscription season. This adaptation was the joint creation of the State Theatre Company's then artistic director, Rosalba Clemente and Melbourne-based actor and director Dawn Langman, both of whom played major roles within the production: Clemente as director and Langman in the part of Hecuba. In this article I intend to explore the links between this production and the building of social capital both within the production and between the production and the audience. In order to do this, I will be referring to interviews conducted with Clemente and Langman in Adelaide, paying particular attention to the socio-political contexts that informed their work. An important aspect of this production was the recruitment of large numbers of community choir members to form the chorus. I shall be discussing how the inclusion of this large community chorus influenced audience reception and response, as well as briefly visiting responses and experiences of some of the actual chorus members.