19:30, Tue 3rd – Sat 7th March 2020 at Fitzpatrick Hall
Lent Week 7

"The bonds of heaven are slipp'd, dissolved, and loosed."

Seven years into the Trojan War, the two sides are at a stalemate. Dissent is growing in the Greek camp, prompted by the hero Achilles' refusal to fight. Within Troy, King Priam and his generals are beginning to wonder whether keeping Helen - the Spartan queen who has eloped with Trojan prince Paris - is worth the toll the conflict is taking. Against this backdrop, two young Trojans, Troilus and Cressida, are taking tentative steps towards romance, aided by Cressida's boorish uncle Pandarus. Will they be able to carve out a place for their fledgling love amidst the violence and bloodshed, or will, as the clown Thersites puts it, 'war and lechery confound all'?

This production will be accompanied by a symposium bringing together professional theatre practitioners and literary academics to discuss Shakespeare’s play on the page and on the stage. More details to follow.