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15 Heroines – The War

Online from Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 8th November 2020

★★★★★

“a fabulous piece of theatre that brings new life to the forgotten women of the Trojan War”

Presented by Jermyn Street Theatre and Digital Theatre+, The War is one of three sets of five monologues in the 15 Heroines series. 15 Heroines takes its inspiration from the Roman poet Ovid’s epistolary work The Heroides which lends a voice to the aggrieved women of ancient mythology as they vent their frustrations to their heroic lovers.

The War, directed by Adjoa Andoh, Tom Littler and Cat Robey, provides a platform for Laodamia, Oenone, Briseis, Hermione and Penelope, all of whose lives have been disrupted by the Trojan War. The bitter war, rather aptly, actually began over a woman. After Aphrodite offered Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, to the Trojan prince Paris, Helen’s husband, Menelaus, King of Mycenaean Sparta, set sail a fleet of a thousand ships to besiege Troy and take her back.

Laodamia (Sophia Eleni) is first up, reimagined as a ‘chavvy’ young woman worrying about her partner, Protesilaus, at war. Protesilaus was the first Greek killed at Troy, and his death drives the young Laodamia to insanity. Here, however, we see Laodamia before her tragic end, hoping and praying that her lover will return to her safely. Oenone (Ann Ogbomo), the first wife of Paris who was discarded for Helen, comes next. Oenone delivers her monologue to Paris as he returns to collect his belongings and laments modern beauty standards, herself a black woman having been left for someone white and younger.

Briseis (Jemima Rooper) follows. The daughter of an ally to the Trojans, she was captured by the Greeks and made concubine to the warrior Achilles before the general Agamemnon steals her and causes great division amongst the Greek camp. Decked out in bridal attire, Briseis delivers her own side of the story, the ancient love triangle reimagined as a polyamorous relationship. Throughout her scene, Briseis transforms into a suit-wearing business woman, shedding her traditional role of ‘bride’.

Then, Hermione (Rebekah Murrell), shares her tale of forced marriage to Achilles’ son Neoptolemus while being interrogated about the crimes of her true love Orestes. Finally, we meet Penelope (Gemma Whelan), the wife of Odysseus, who waits ten years for his return following the war’s conclusion. Here, she is an isolated lockdown wife, obsessively worrying about her husband’s whereabouts. It is notable that Helen is not one of the five women featured, though she is neither in Ovid’s work.

Eleni is incredible as a modern Laodamia, her performance utterly captivating. The script (Charlotte Jones) is also strongest here, the interweaving of myth with the modern scenario excellently done. For example, when Laodamia states that she’s “not into that crazy shit” like killing children and sleeping with your siblings like “the other girls around ‘ere.” The commentary on beauty standards during Oenone’s speech is also especially powerful (Lettie Precious), and Ogbomo does an excellent job at passionately delivering this.

All five women have unique sets which spark intrigue yet are instantly recognisable from Penelope the anxious wife to Laodamia the streetwise but fragile young woman. Laodamia’s messy bedroom (Emily Stuart) is particularly effective as we are taken into a personal and intimate space to hear her oration. Briseis’ set (Stuart) allows for the most dynamic scene, Rooper moving around the stage as she changes her outfit.

The War is a fabulous piece of theatre that brings new life to the forgotten women of the Trojan War. Thoroughly modern but still ever faithful to the original text, this instalment of 15 Heroines is a must see.

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Photography by Marc Brenner

15 Heroines – The War

Online via jermynstreettheatre.co.uk until 14th November

Last ten shows reviewed by Flora:

Jekyll & Hyde | ★★★½ | The Vaults | February 2020

Minority Report | ★★★½ | The Vaults | February 2020

The Six Wives Of Henry VIII | ★★★ | King’s Head Theatre | February 2020

Julius Caesar | ★★★★ | The Space | March 2020

The Haus Of Kunst | ★★★ | The Vaults | March 2020

Big Girl | ★★★ | Bread & Roses Theatre | September 2020

Pippin | ★★★★ | The Garden Theatre | September 2020

All By Myself | ★★½ | Online | October 2020

How to Live a Jellicle Life | ★★★★ | Lion & Unicorn Theatre | October 2020

Howerd’s End | ★★★½ | Golden Goose Theatre | October 2020

Click here to see our most recent reviews

★★★★

“an uneasy story that keeps you anxious about what happens next”

Ed and Tom are stunned when estate agent Clarissa tells them the rent for the incredible central London flat they’re viewing is just £400 each. Tom wants to know what the catch is. Ed isn’t bothered (who cares! There’s a view of Big Ben from the window!). It’s then Tom notices cameras in the ceilings of every room (bedroom and bathroom included). Clarissa says they’re for security purposes: the landlord likes to make sure nothing untoward goes on in the building. Tom is far from convinced. Ed doesn’t mind: if someone wants to watch him, that’s their business. He has nothing to hide. Meanwhile, Clarissa’s new PA, Bryony, finds herself in trouble after she questions the landlord’s motives.

The premise of The Good Landlord, Metamorph Theatre’s first in-house production, invokes some interesting questions about privacy in the social media age. Have daily ‘check ins’ and ‘stories’ desensitised us to being monitored? Are we primed for a surveillance state? In this sense, the premise is somewhat misleading. The show is far more absurdist dark comedy than general social-political commentary. Ed’s comfort with being watched isn’t because he’s a ‘plugged in’ millennial; it’s because he has an exhibition fetish. The mysterious landlord is less Big Brother and more lone perv. Besides the unaffordability of housing (which the play may be one long joke about), writer Michael Ross leaves current issues in the background: it’s up to the viewer to connect them (or not).

If The Good Landlord is not sermonising social criticism, it is a delightfully weird comedy where it feels like anything can happen. Realism is almost entirely abandoned as the characters dive into evocative spoken word that echoes surreally around the Cavern space at The Vaults. Ed’s fantasies of seducing the ever-watching landlord nonsensically overlap with his delusions of MI5 observing him for recruitment purposes. Clarissa bizarrely speaks in screenplay metaphors. Their monologues are tangential crescendos, but Ross adeptly prevents them from derailing the plot. It’s an uneasy story that keeps you anxious about what happens next.

Rupert Sadler’s (Ed) bombastic affect is a main source of humour as his character gradually spirals into the outrageous. Phoebe Batteson-Brown (Clarissa) brings most of the darkness to the comedy with her syrup-coated threats. Maximillian Davey nails Tom’s insecurity, and Tiwalade Ibirogba Olulode (Bryony) anchors the show with her earnest portrayal. Tom and Bryony are caught between Ed’s insanity and Clarissa’s villainy – two powerful forces the sincerer characters struggle to fight. Perhaps doing the right thing is always a losing battle in an insane, cruel world.

If you’re looking for a modern 1984 in the aftermath of the Facebook data-sharing scandal, this isn’t that play. However, audiences who are willing to check reality in at the door, step into a world of dark, outlandish humour, and draw their own conclusions will find plenty to enjoy in The Good Landlord.

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography courtesy Metamorph Theatre

Tag Archives: Cat Robey

15 Heroines – The War

★★★★★

Jermyn Street Theatre Online