On Oct. 18, the Theatre and Dance Department presented their adaptation of “An Iliad” by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, based on Homer’s “The Iliad.” Directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance Kerstin Vaughn, “An Iliad” asks us to consider, what do we do with our rage?
Embodied by poets and muses, the cast tell the epic story of Achilles, Hector and the Trojan War. According to the director’s note in the program, the cast took a “devised theatre approach, working as an ensemble to distribute lines, create music moments and develop movement sequences”. While “An Iliad” is written as a one-actor piece, it is broken up into six separate parts, with each poet bringing something new and different to the story.
The play opens with the poets in a bar. While they drink, they are trying to tell a story, but they have trouble remembering, so they petition the help of the muses (Li Winner ’27 and Jayden Sloan ’28). They mention that the Trojan War has been going on for nine years. Soon after, the poets recount the conflict that starts the play: Agamemnon and Achilles’ feud.
Agamemnon (Ethan Bardoe ’26), the Greek commander, takes a woman captive, but when her father, a priest of Apollo, comes to demand her return, Agamemnon refuses and Apollo sends a plague to the Greeks’ camp. Agamemnon finally returns the woman to her father, but takes Achilles’ (Ada Wagner ’27) captive as consolation. Furious, Achilles withdraws from the battle.
As the Greek’s best warrior, Achilles’ departure puts them at a disadvantage. The Trojans, led by Hector (Isaac Campbell ’29), gain the upper hand, and push the Greek soldiers back.
Patroclus (Kris King ’29), Achilles’ closest companion, unable to bear the sight of the Greek soldiers dying, asks Achilles for his permission to lead the Greek soldiers into battle wearing his armor, hoping that this would put fear in the Trojan soldiers. Although reluctant, Achilles says yes, but tells him not to fight Hector.
Patroclus, wearing Achilles’ armor, rushes to the field and slaughters many Trojans, each kill fueled by rage. Soon, Patroclus comes face to face with Hector, who mistakes him for Achilles. Not heeding Achilles’ words, Patroclus fights Hector, but is killed. In his defeat, Hector removes Achilles’ armor from Patroclus’s corpse and wears it himself. Patroclus’ death served as the central emotional turn of the play.
When Achilles learns of Patroclus’ death, his grief quickly turns to rage. He makes amends with Agamemnon, gets new armor forged by the gods, and returns to the war. In his blind rage, he slaughters countless Trojans, encounters Hector and takes his life with a spear through the chest. After the battle, Achilles drags Hector’s body behind his chariot as an act of revenge back to the Greek camp.
Some time after, Hector’s father sneaks into the Greek camp to beg Achilles for his son’s body for a proper memorial. He kneels before him, pleading to his son’s killer, which quells Achilles’ rage. He asks him how long he would need for the memorial, and he says 11 days. Achilles makes the decision to halt the war for 11 days so they can mourn Hector’s death, then the war would resume.
In the final scene of the play, the Poets recount the numerous wars in history. From ancient battles to modern day conflicts, the Poets circle the stage as they list them off one by one.
“An Iliad” is a representation of the universal emotions and conflicts that humans experience. Achilles’ grief, rage and eventual compassionate turn symbolize the weight of emotions that all humans carry.
The music and many of the scenes in the production were created by the cast themselves. In an email interview with Isaac Campbell ’29, he stated that “It was a devised process, meaning we sort of figured out a lot of stuff as we went. Specific characters were assigned to each of us, but all “poet” lines were completely unplanned”. The use of lighting throughout the play also added an emotional depth to the story of the play. For example, during Patroclus’ killing spree of the Trojans, the stage was drenched in red light, reflecting the rage and bloodshed that the scene emphasizes. The College of Wooster’s production of “An Iliad” adapted a one-man show into a six-person piece, adding a new perspective to the way Homer’s “The Iliad” is portrayed.