LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, in collaboration with Eclipses Group Theater NY, presents The Trojan Women, Euripides’ searing anti-war tragedy. Featuring a multicultural cast of professional actors, live music, and a new English translation by co-artistic director Demetri Bonaros, this large-scale production brings fresh urgency to an ancient classic.
The play will be performed on May 14-16 at 7pm, and May 17 at 4pm.
Set in the aftermath of Troy’s fall, the play follows Queen Hecabe (played by Anthoula Katsimatides) and the women of Troy as they face loss, enslavement, and exile.
Written in 415 BC during the Peloponnesian War, The Trojan Women is unique among ancient tragedies because it refuses to focus on the “glory” of the victors. Instead, Euripides turns his lens toward the defeated, specifically the royal women of Troy who have survived the slaughter of their men and now wait on the beach to be claimed as war prizes.
By centering the narrative on Hecabe, the fallen queen, Euripides creates a profound study of grief and resilience. It is a play that strips away the heroic myth of the Trojan War, revealing it instead as a chaotic, heartbreaking human catastrophe in which the only “prize” for the victors is moral decay.
Directed by Ioanna Katsarou, this isn’t just a period piece; it is a searing, multicultural exploration of war’s true cost. With live percussion and a diverse professional cast, The Trojan Women remains a devastatingly relevant portrait of those left behind in the wake of violence.
This production was supported by the Art Grants for Queens Grant, the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.
