Language and Costumes of Trojan Women

Sydney Bernardo

Prior to watching the performance of Euripides’ The Trojan Women at Getty Villa, I wondered skeptically as to how “modern” the adaptation would really be. Since the events of the play occur right after the Trojan War, it would have been difficult translating that into an event that would relate to us in 2011. The modern changes made, however, mainly involved the costumes and the vernacular language used. Some characters, such as Helen and Talthybius, did take on a more contemporary or loosely-adapted attitude in which audience members could actually relate acquaintances to them. For example, in the literary text, Helen pleads with Menelaus not to kill her in a surprisingly eloquent monologue. Because there are no stage directions in how she should act while recounting this, I initially did not think of her sly temptress act from The Odyssey or the 2004 film Troy. Therefore, I found it appropriate that the stage adaptation was able to bring back that aspect of her as a powerful, seductive woman through her elaborate costume (which was actually the only woman’s costume not stained at the ends) and her suggestive gestures (such as pulling up her dress when speaking to Menelaus). The casting of Katherine Crockett as Helen was extremely well-done and stood out to me as a-bit-unorthodox, yet very entertaining, portrayal.

After realizing that not much of the plot or setting had changed in this adaptation, the costumes of the women came as no shock to me. In contrast, all the men (aside from Talthybius) wore suits, giving a sense of formality and professionalism. It was intriguing how, although no costumes were exactly the same, all the Trojans had similarities. The dresses of the women were stained at the bottom and none of them (even the representation of the Chorus) wore shoes, achieving that natural - and even a bit primitive - look. Reflecting back on Helen, however, her dress was not stained and she specifically wore shoes. In my opinion, this clearly depicted that she was not “one of them,” but rather, one of the Achaeans. And ironically, she constantly acted as a superior, someone above the losers of war.

Cassandra, although a true Trojan woman, eventually wore shoes before joining Agamemnon as his concubine. I saw this as a legitimate reaction. Like in many wars, there are those who rebel, those who adapt, and still others who pretend to adapt in order to rebel more effectively. Cassandra went for the third option. By joining the Achaeans, she may possibly have an easier time earning their trust, which would then lead to easier access to betrayal (which she does mention in both the text and the performance).

Acting and character portrayal are typically the most critiqued and acknowledged aspects of theater. In the case of SITI’s Trojan Women (After Euripides), both the acting and character portrayal were done well (with the exception of the characters of the Chorus and Poseidon for the sole reason that I did not think they were extremely necessary). However, the use of language and costumes is also vital to a show’s dynamics. The fact that the SITI company embodied so much within just the significance of the shoes, dresses, and language made the play much more enjoyable for me.