Troy is rather hot, this year. The Hague has just premiered Trojan Wars, an insane marathon performance (5 hours), with 35 actors for 40 roles and a text that, apart from being by Homer, is very clearly by Peer Wittenbols. Who I admire boundlessly. A review by colleague Peter Olsthoorn can be read on this site. I have yet to go there.
To make up for the miss, I was at Utrecht's Theater Kikker on Thursday 7 October to see De Ilias, performed by Theatre Group Aluin. Also Troy, also Homer, also war, also twenty characters but in this case only three actors and so it was done in just under five quarters of an hour. It was wonderful. The actors wonderfully unpretentious and bursting with acting pleasure.
Cabaret past
Alum is a specialist in theatre based on classics for schoolchildren. They have made an art of reducing the world's greatest stories to their bare essentials. Founder Erik Snel writes, his wife Victorine Plante directs and brings her cabaret past with her. (And something to do with a dog, but you have to see the show for that). The combo guarantees theatre that deals efficiently with content, set and time, and maximises eloquence.
Homer wrote the story of the war for Troy sometime in the 10th century BC, and writers of books, films, theatre and games since then have not really succeeded in handling tension building, editing, character drawing, humour and storyline any better than this archetypal Greek tale. From Shakespeare and Stephen King, to Game of Thrones and also Squid Game: without Homer, these stories would not have been possible.
Mythology
Wars happen because men do not feel like sharing their spoils, gods do not give each other the light in the eyes and people in general are too gullible. Strife is addictive and we fail to see that it always destroys everything. Homer wrote that down, and that defined the entire mythology of the classical Greeks, on which our worldview is still based. In the end, everyone is interchangeable and so you can easily run such a huge story with three players.
The above may sound a bit very cold, but go watch this ultra-short version, and you'll get it. And that leaves plenty for that big marathon from The Hague.
Good to know
English (UK) 
Nederlands 
Français 
