Distraction and Innovation in Trojan Women

I thought that the performance of Trojan women that we saw was, on the surface, very loyal to the written work, but differed on some key points. For one, the decision to use one setting for the entire play utilized the beauty of the building and the area around it, however it was the cause of some awkward moments in the play. Poseidon awkwardly stood around for the entire performance, signifying that the gods have full knowledge and control over all that happens in the mortal world, yet his presence felt strange and was distracting to the audience. Having other characters, who would otherwise be off-stage, stand around in the distance was distracting as well (Helen especially). The decision to have Andromache smother her baby before allowing the envoy to kill it was a dramatic and unexpected twist. Only a mother so hopeless and grief stricken would do such a thing to her own child, thus, this poignant scene lingered in the minds of many audience members. Finally, I believe that the decision to inset Odysseus into the play was strange, for the original play worked nicely without his presence. As a final note, the decision to cast Cassandra as an Asian was surprising, and singled her out from the rest of the cast, and her accent was a bit distracting as well. All in all, the actors did a wonderful job of playing their parts with emotion and skill, yet after having read the play, I feel that the director’s decisions were odd and detracted from the plot.