Last Thursday afternoon, The Trojan Women cast was treated to a visit by Amherst College professor, Dr. Eleonora Mattiacci, an expert in global crises analyses. She led the group in an engaging conversation about the root causes for contemporary global conflicts and the refugee crises that inevitably follow.

While The Trojan Women was written thousands of years ago, the topic of war never gets old. The women are refugees in their own country and are ultimately ripped from their homes after their culture is decimated. Sadly, this story is repeating itself in countless conflicts as I write this. When I decided to do The Trojan Women I knew there would be plenty of ways we could raise awareness about the plight of contemporary refugees, but I had no idea how timely the conversation would be. With refugees flooding Eastern Europe by the hundreds of thousands (many of them traveling through Greece and Turkey- where thy myth of the Trojan War originates), the responsibility we feel to use this play to raise awareness about their struggles has never been greater.

In response to Professor Mattiacci’s visit, the cast will create educational packets that will be included in the program for our production. In the packets audiences will find resources to help those suffering in the wake of war. We will also host talk-backs after each show to bring further awareness to our community and discuss the link between our production and the contemporary conflicts ravaging the globe. While we recognize these conversations are difficult to have we look forward to beginning them with you and doing our own small part to, as the famous Williston saying goes, “do good, well.”

Euripides’ The Trojan Women comes to the Williston Theatre on October 15-17 and October 22-24 at 7:30 p.m. Reserve your tickets here.