Toneelschur Haarlem
2024
The Trojan War is a myth, but the fall of Troy is a fact. But where do the stories begin and the facts cease to exist?
Why do we feel that some people are more worth of protection then others?
Is the war of everyone against everyone a natural state?
The Trojan War serves as a bridge between mythology and history. While some form of conflict took place there, it was not fought by the figures we know from literary tradition. Yet it is the mythological narrative that continues to shape our imagination.
House of Troy explores the role of the establishment and the mechanisms through which it seeks to control narratives. The story is told from the perspective of Cassandra, who is reimagined not as a prophetess but as a figure searching for truth (if such a thing can be said to exist). One strategy for deconstructing the mythological narrative is the reversal of chronology. The performance opens with a series of flashbacks in which Cassandra witnesses the deaths of members of her family. She then attempts to prevent the Trojan Horse from being brought into the city, refusing to be blinded by the illusion of victory. At the same time, she advocates returning Helen to the Greeks, naively believing that such an act could bring the war to an end.
Mythological sources offer no consensus regarding Helen’s story. Was she ever truly in Troy? Was she abducted? Or, as in the Hollywood version, did she fall in love with Paris and willingly leave her husband? These contradictions become the subject of the performance. Throughout the story, each character projects their own desires onto Helen, while the truth of her existence becomes increasingly irrelevant. What matters is not which version is true, but which version is told in order to achieve a particular political goal.
The culmination of the performance is a conversation between Cassandra and Hecuba, during which it is revealed that Helen functions above all as a political instrument. Whether she exists or not is ultimately beside the point.
In the final scene, when Cassandra refuses to participate in Hector’s funeral, Hecuba explains her position: war is the status quo, and the task of the royal family is not to resist it but to survive and exploit circumstances in order to strengthen their own position. The performance examines social status and the ways it determines which lives are considered worthy of protection and mourning.
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS:
“The fragmentary and anti-chronological narrative form disrupts how we normally experience a drama – it makes identification with the characters impossible at the moment of their mourning and death, because we have not experienced the lead-up to it. In this way, Staniak and De Geest manage to draw a parallel with how we view modern wars: the victims remain strangers to us, which promotes distance and apathy.”
Marijn Lems/NRC
“Through sharp choices in structure, language and acting style, Huis van Troje moves from grandly played out pathos to more contemporary, empathetic scenes, which cast an increasingly sharper light on the despicable sides of humanity.”
Sander Janssens/ De Volkskarant
(Both experts translated from Dutch reviews)
SCRIPT FRAGMENT (END SCENE):
CASSANDRA
We have to stop the fighting.
HECUBA
We can't.
CASSANDRA
Why?
HECUBA
They'll kill us.
CASSANDRA
Why will they kill us?
HECUBA
Otherwise we'll kill them. What exactly are you asking me?
CASSANDRA
How did it start?
HECUBA
First this happened, then that, afterwards, later, and before that they did something, because we... that's not the point. What matters is the story we believe in. People are ants. They'll walk into any fire, any flood, any stream of blood, blindly, as long as they trust that afterward things will be fairer, better, greater. That's our story. And in that story, some lives matter more than others. It's difficult, but that doesn't make it any less true.
People throw themselves into ditches and drown for that story. Their bodies form a bridge across which the chosen will pass and build a new world. That's us. They're building the bridge for us. All we have to do is walk across it and start over.
CREDITS
Director: Mateusz Staniak
Director's assistant: Kato Cornil
Script: Laura de Geest and Mateusz Staniak
Cast: Nadia Amin/Charlie Chan Dagelet, Yaqien Bouhbaka, Elsie de Brauw, Laura De Geest Mona Lahousse Carlo Paardenkooper
Dramaturgy: Johan Reyniers
Set and light design: Zaza Dupont
Costume design: Wojciech Dziedzic
Music and sound desing: George Dhauw
Director's assistant: Kato Cornil
Script: Laura de Geest and Mateusz Staniak
Cast: Nadia Amin/Charlie Chan Dagelet, Yaqien Bouhbaka, Elsie de Brauw, Laura De Geest Mona Lahousse Carlo Paardenkooper
Dramaturgy: Johan Reyniers
Set and light design: Zaza Dupont
Costume design: Wojciech Dziedzic
Music and sound desing: George Dhauw
Hair and make up advice: David Verswijveren
Technical staff: Jelmer Tuinstra, Tim Kockx, Victor Dijkstra, Jip van ’t Veer
Set creation: Decoratelier Toneelschuur Producties
Dresser: Claudia Pellegrini
Artistic advice: Maria Kraakman
with thanks to Jacco van Tongeren
Photos: Sanne Peper