Abstract

Caroline Bird will be in conversation with Henry Stead about her current version of Euripides’ Trojan Women, which is currently receiving its world premiere at the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill (8th November-15th December: http://www.gatetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-trojan-women.aspx).

An extraordinarily powerful adaptation which channels the visceral boldness of Euripides’ original gesture, the play’s female captives are held in the mother-and-baby unit of a modern prison at the epicentre of a war zone as the fallen queen, Hecuba, tries to make sense of the shocking new reality with which she is confronted. Bird is a remarkable poet and tells the story with caustic lyricism and morbid wit.

Caroline Bird Her previous theatre credits include Sixty-six Books (Bush Theatre) where she wrote a piece inspired by Leviticus, and The Trial of Dennis the Menace (Purcell Room, Southbank Centre), a musical inspired by The Beano. She is the author of three poetry collections: Looking Through Letterboxes, Trouble Came to the Turnip, and Watering Can. She has been shortlisted twice for the Dylan Thomas Prize, and Watering Can also achieved a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. She was one of the five official poets at London Olympics 2012, and her poem ‘The Fun Palace’ is now erected on the Olympic Site.

Henry Stead A poet and translator, Henry Stead is an associate of Oxford’s Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama (APGRD). He researches the reception of classical culture, especially in British poetry and drama. Recent shows include Prometheus Chained (Sheffield, 2012) and Seneca’s Medea (Oxford, 2011). In January 2013 he will take up an appointment as a Research Associate at King’s College, London.