Two of the Island’s own have partnered to offer a one-person show about the timeless toll of war that is sure to set your hearts and minds afire. Katherine Reid will direct Lagan Love in a modern adaptation of the “Iliad,” one of the oldest works of Western literature. Circuit Arts and Circuit Stage are presenting “An Iliad” at Grange Hall, May 30 through June 1.
Thirteen years ago, Love was struck when seeing “An Iliad,” written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare. The play stayed with him, and two years ago he considered performing a portion at Circuit Arts’ presentation, Locals. He noted, “But it came with a weighty question: Would I be able to do justice to a fantastic modern take on one of humanity’s earliest stories? I reached out to one of my favorite collaborators, Katherine Reid, so that she could scale the mountain with me as the director. I knew she loved Greek myth, and was able to encourage and push her performers to their full potential.”
Reid agreed to the project. “As a lover of Ancient Greek myth and staunch opposer of warfare in all its manifestations, I found it both enticing and challenging to engage with this text. The Iliad is a story that has been told through the ages, one of glory and bloodshed, and at its crux, insurmountable loss. At a time when a global crisis feels like a biblical flood, this story brings into stark contrast the cost of conflict and the questions behind the thin veil of warfare. After the ashes settle, and the blood is washed, the pyres burned, and memorials mounted, are we better off than we were before?”
The narrative is told through the character of the Poet, who, by embodying various characters throughout “An Iliad,” has personally experienced the events. “The Poet transports us to this world by placing himself within it,” said Reid. “He speaks about knowing these men and being there when everything happened. It’s really striking hearing about all this conflict from someone who has been there.”
Reid also noted the play’s striking dichotomy. “The Poet, who is a soldier himself and knew these men, almost champions warfare, while likewise making a continual effort throughout to implore us to eradicate war. He also shows us how inclined human nature can be to warfare.”
“An Iliad” is a modern retelling of the ancient story that, as described on the website LitCharts, recounts a brief yet crucial period of the Trojan War — a conflict between the city of Troy and its allies against a coalition of Greek cities, collectively known as the Achaeans. The conflict began when Priam, the king of Troy, allowed his son to seize the willing Helen, reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the world, from the Achaean king Menelaus. In response, the Achaeans assembled a massive army and sailed to Troy determined to reclaim Helen by force.
Reid said, “This has been a difficult piece for me to revisit. No matter where we turn, everything is in crisis. I almost felt it was pouring more on top of what we already witnessed. But I’ve been thinking about it as a cathartic practice. This character continues to be summoned over and over again, because we have not learned to eradicate warfare, since this is our nature. And if we don’t talk about this side of our nature, we are destined to repeat it.”
Reid points out that an essential component of the play is how the Poet directly addresses us as audience members: “The Poet asks repeatedly, ‘What is the cost of war? What is it all for?’ In Greek mythology, oral tradition was not only to remember but also in retelling the story, hoping it would be different next time.”
Circuit Arts executive director Brian Ditchfield explains why they are presenting the play: “I saw Lagan perform a piece from ’An Iliad’ at Locals two years ago. I was so incredibly impressed, and can’t wait to share the fully realized version with the community. I love it when classics are retold in interesting new ways. It shows the timelessness of a great story. It speaks as urgently to our world today as I’m sure it did about 2,700 years ago when Homer penned the original epic.”
“An Iliad” will be performed Friday, May 30, at 7 pm; Saturday, May 31, at 7 pm; and Sunday, June 1, at 2 pm, at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury. For pay-what-you-can tickets and more information, visit circuitarts.org/anlliad.
