Cassandra by Lesia Ukrainka: Livestream From Omnibus Theatre, Clapham Common, London
In these painful times, it can be hard to work out the best thing to do to help those who are struggling. As well as giving to charities directly supporting people and communities in the impacted countries, (if you can), you can easily support culture and arts initiatives.
This Greek tragedy production was a livestream of a sold-out production of Cassandra from the Clapham Common Theatre, performed by Live Canon. A bargain £5 gave me access to new learning — during the interview I learnt who Lesia Ukrainka was and to an excellent Greek tragedy performance. What an amazing life — poet, politics, wife. mother and author. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesya_Ukrainka
Having already supported ballet (Giselle by The United Ukrainian ballet at London Coliseum), this is a meaningful and ethically easy thing for me to do. Other options are supporting chefs — there are Ukrainian restaurants, cook-alongs (I’ve learnt about cabbage and beetroot in Eastern European cooking) as well as cookbooks to choose from — to offering displaced people a safe and stable home — What can you do to support Ukraine & Ukrainians? ‣ Ukrainian Institute London
Sanctuary Foundation | Promoting refugee welcome and welfare
There are a lot of fundraising events and opportunities, even as the cost-of-living bites. Nor is it just Ukrainian people who need support, so look out for other opportunities to support Iran (especially Iranian women), Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia etc…. I’m not writing any of this to big myself up or make anyone feel bad; but whilst we might feel powerless because we are only ordinary people, we can always do something to help. Slava Ukraini.
Very simply staged and performed in modern dress, we experience a clash of empires personally. What was noticeable was that all the women seemed to verbally fight with each other. Troy — a city at war with the Greeks and under siege because of wife stealing (i.e., Paris with Helen from Menelaus). Although we can wonder how much Helen wanted to leave or was forcibly taken — depending on the writer. Cassandra is a Princess of Troy, part of the royal house, a daughter of Kind Priam and sister of Paris, Prince and wife thief. Rejecting Apollo, he has (rather callously) cursed her with the ability to see something of the future, but never be believed. Here Cassandra’s foretellings are more fuzzy — she struggles to see how they apply or fully what they mean. The play focuses on women, how they are treated by men and the impact of war on women.
We first encounter Cassandra and Helen. Cassandra is not impressed with Helen’s beauty and almost bullies her. This is all going to end badly…Cassandra can’t help but compare herself unfavorably with Helen.
With a swish of curtains the scene changes to Cassandra and her sister Polyxena, who dreams of marriage and her wedding to come to Achilles. She is much more romantic than Cassandra; Cassandra is in love with Dolon, a Trojan, but has ended their engagement as she doesn’t feel good enough for him. She also feels that her gift of foreseeing (but not prophesy) is a social embarrassment to him; he is a warrior.
All the time Cassandra keeps writing her visions down in a book…She doesn’t see this coming — Achilles was pro-Greek but has switched sides to fight with the Trojans after a fall out with the Greek commander Agamemnon. Andromache, Cassandra’s sister-in-law, and wife of Trojan Prince Hector, arrives, baby in her arms. A busy woman, she always keeps passing through. This time she brings bad news — the wedding is off as Hector has killed Achilles closest friend Patroclus. Cassandra slices off Polyxena’s beautiful bridal hair with her knife. The women watch anxiously for news and scan the battlefield as they slowly learn the terrible news of Hector’s defeat on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Cassandra’s brother Deiphobus has plans for her. Cassandra has secretly visited Dolon on the battlefield and watched as he went out on a scouting mission. Unfortunately, she knew his future — she watched miserably, commentating from the defensive ramparts, as he died, killed in his mission. Deiphobus just wants a political and military alliance — Cassandra must marry Onomaus, King of Lydia, so that he and his armies will fight the Greeks alongside the Trojans. Cassandra wants none of this…
Onomaus comes to impress his new bride, with flowers. Cassandra is not (and curses him). Due to the lack of kind words, the Lydians appear to be leaving…
Cassandra’s twin Helenus learns that Onomaus has been killed and the Trojans are decimated; Helenus is also able to foretell. And beware of Greeks bearing gifts…. Everyone becomes increasingly angry at Cassandra — she cursed the Lydian King, now he’s dead, they’re losing the war and won’t listen to her…If only she had done what they wanted her to…Cassandra feels the pressure on her rising…
The Greeks appear to have fled the city and abandoned their siege. But they have left a giant wooden horse behind (apparently empty). Cassandra wants the Trojans to not go anywhere near this thing. Helenus is definitely up for bringing a giant horse into Troy. Deiphobus interrogates a Greek, Sinon, apparently left behind on the battlefield, who spreads some fake news, and is then let go, being just a boy. Cassandra doesn’t trust Sinon but trusts herself less and cannot bring herself to kill him.
Sinon is excellent at singing and gets the Trojans celebrating, singing, playing and drinking. Only the drinks are drugged and knock the soldiers into sleep. He then lets the Greeks out of their hiding place — inside the wooden horse — to freely attack the city, unopposed. Cassandra realises what’s happening and tried to wake the sleeping guards — but too late! The royal women are crouched in chains, Andromache with empty arms as her baby has been killed.
Cassandra has been taken captive as tribute by Agamenon. Helen is there too; but manages to persuade her husband Menelaus that she did love him and was faithful all along — returning to be Queen, escaping peacefully up the theatre stairs and leaving Cassandra to her fate. Cassandra stands on the stairs of the theatre unwilling to move forward— Agamenon states that she will be treated, with honour, as a royal Princess, and ends up carrying her inside. Clytemnestra, Agamenon’s wife, greets her returning husband and offers hospitality and rest. Only she has a plan — she and her lover Aegisthus are going to murder them, in revenge for the sacrifice of Iphigenia — her beloved daughter murdered to ensure smooth sailing to Troy. Cassandra knows what is to come, but will not share this, and so we see them knifed to death through the curtains.
Whilst it sounds grim, and sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who, the simple setting of drawn and undrawn curtains, some benches and lighting gave a sense of a city at war, of ancient times; of almost being in army tents and encamped. In the second half, Cassandra was being less and less listened to, mocked and almost verbally abused, as she was seen as not doing her duty in marrying as her brother wanted her to. Most of all we see the impact of war on women and families as brothers, lovers, fathers are lost — revenge begats revenge; nothing is ever the same even after the end of war, and though the women start out as types to begin with, by the end all their roles have changed. They are no longer — wife, mother, Princess and daughter of the King. The pain and regret Cassandra must be feeling leads her to seek death rather than life — a sort of atonement for what has happened, although she takes too much blame. The scene in which Cassandra tries to rouse help and finds none was particularly moving, as she finds herself knowing..and alone. It made me think of Iran — who listens to the women?
