I am sure you are all familiar with tragedy. And no, I’m not talking about my GPA; I’m talking about Greek tragedy, like ‘Romeo and Juliet,” or Hamlet.
A lesser known tragedy, “The Trojan Women,” was first presented in 415 B.C., and although it is neither popular nor prize-winning, the message of the play is still relevant, if not more so, today.
The story tells of the inhumanity of their own people when the Athenians massacred and enslaved their enemies. The protagonists are a group of Trojan women (surprise) who essentially get screwed over for being powerless during wartime.
There are kings and queens and soldiers and gods, all of whom are either out to get them, or can’t do anything to help them. The tale ends with the women being taken away on boats as slaves, while their city goes up in flames.
One of the women even tries to kill herself, but is stopped by a solider. Talk about hopelessness. Gannon University will actually be producing a version by Ellen Mclaughlin, which was developed with refugees from the Bosnian War.
It will stay true to the themes but pay special attention to how these themes are relevant in today’s society, according to Alaina Manchester, the director of this upcoming project.
You can reserve your tickets now on the Schuster Theater page of gannon.edu. “The Trojan Women” opens at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27.

MICHAEL GUO
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