Atropa

With Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Antoinette Kellermann, Rolanda Marais, Carla Smith, Geon Nel

In a world torn apart by war, inequality and the legacy of colonialism, Atropastrikes like an arrow to the heart. Celebrated Flemish writer Tom Lanoye’s reimagining of the Trojan War is not just a retelling – it is a radical indictment of contemporary power, patriarchy and the politics of violence. Against the backdrop of global conflict and an age-old struggle against gender-based violence, state power and historical trauma, Atropabecomes a mirror for our times. (Greek and Trojan) women – mothers, lovers, warriors – stand firm against the destruction driven by men. Their voices, silenced for centuries, now resound loud and clear – it is a lyrical indictment filled with anger, resistance and revenge. Atropa is a cry for peace in a world addicted to war.

Director and Design Marthinus Basson
Writer and translator Tom Lanoye
Set and Lighting DesignNicolaas de Jongh
Costumes Phyllis Midlane
Stage Management Nicolaas de Jongh, Jean du Plessis(assistant)

AKKNK production,**in collaboration with the State Theatre.Made possible by NATi.Supported byToyota Stellenbosch Woordfees, with a contribution by Literatuur Vlaanderen**.

Director’s Note
Marthinus Basson

In 414 BC the Greek poet and dramatist Euripides wrote The Trojan Women in which he dissects the aftermath of the love affair between the Greek Helena and Paris, Prince of Troy, as an indictment of man’s warlike nature and the accompanying destruction of man, economy and culture.
Helena (Rolanda Marais) leaves her husband, Menelaus, brother of the general, Agamemnon (Geon Nel), and husband of her sister Clytemnestra (Anna-Mart van der Merwe). She flees with Paris to Troy.
Their family honour compromised, the two brothers decide to avenge Helena’s “kidnapping” by gathering the largest fleet ever, a thousand ships and thousands of men, to sail against Troy. But the wind refuses to blow, the sails hang limp and the men become rebellious. The Gods require a sacrifice to make the wind rise.
Iphigenia (Carla Smith), youngest daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, is the price that must be paid for summoning the wind. This blood sacrifice leads to ten years of uninterrupted war and the complete destruction of Troy and its culture.
The Trojan royal family’s men are wiped out and the women taken prisoner. Hekabe (Antoinette Kellermann) the queen of Troy, her daughter-in-law Andromache and Cassandra, she with the gift of seeing the future, are taken as slaves to Greece as spoils of war.
Two thousand five hundred years later, the attack on the Twin Towers in New York triggered George Bush’s destructive war between Iraq and America and became the fodder for internationally renowned Belgian playwright, Tom Lanoye, to write Atropa – his meditation on the nature of man and the impact of war on the individual, society and history. His exploration highlights the consequences of conflict by focusing on the family, the limits of love, national pride, ideology, propaganda and the value of man.
In light of the current state of politics in Ukraine, Iran, America, Russia and China, the shadow of Euripides hangs ominously over our world, serving as both warning and guide.
Tom Lanoye’s robust translation is his first venture into Afrikaans.