The Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s season includes the rarely staged Troilus and Cressida, a thrilling and timeless Trojan War epic penned by the Bard in 1602. On the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre running through August 6.
Troilus and Cressida weaves together stories of god-like heroes, embattled kings and the tragedy of two doomed, disillusioned lovers who seem like grown-up versions of Romeo and Juliet.
Director Carolyn Howarth says the play’s mythic mélange of drama, comedy and history was what ultimately inspired her to pursue a career in theatre. She first saw a performance of the play at London’s Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985, where a young Alan Rickman played the role of Achilles.
Howarth earned her MFA from the University of California Davis, then appeared in and directed scores of plays all over the West, including a handful of productions at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.
Th is summer is Howarth’s sixth with CSF, and her production of Troilus and Cressida brings the 400-year-old play into the 21st century by setting all the action in a world on the verge of apocalypse and placing women in a few roles usually reserved for men.
In Howarth’s production, the traditionally male roles of Ulysses, Agamemnon and Aeneas are female. She hopes that putting women in positions of militaristic power proves that men aren’t the only ones who can pull o hubris and biting humor.
“Th is is a big, macho, violent, scary, sexy play, and I think it can still be all of those things when it’s coming through a female lens,” Howarth says.
CSF’s Artistic Director, Timothy Orr, couldn’t agree more. “Carolyn is a master at telling these huge, heroic stories,” Orr says. “I can’t wait to see her Troilus and Cressida.”
Given the change in command, Howarth says cutting the play’s many lines about the weakness of women was a no-brainer. But by and large, she says, the most powerful gender statements unfold without any script edits at all.
“When you don’t even touch the script, you’re forced to see how the men of the play deal with women in power,” Howarth says. “ They can’t run roughshod over the women anymore; they have to be dealt with as equals. at creates tension, and a whole other set of obstacles comes up.”
Th is is Howarth’s first time directing Troilus and Cressida, but it isn’t her first go-round with a large-scale historical play. She says her proudest moment at CSF thus far has been directing last summer’s Henry V.
“I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in that production,” Howarth says. “Taking on such a huge project with that amazing cast was just an exquisite experience.” Almost as exquisite as watching Alan Rickman on the London stage.
Troilus and Cressida runs through Aug. 6 at the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, CU Boulder. Tickets start at $20 available at coloradoshakes.org, (303) 492- 8008 or the CU Presents Box Office, 972 Broadway, Boulder.
Th e Festival offers several pre and post-show activities, including tours of the Colorado Shakespeare Gardens, Bard-themed performances on the green and talkback discussions with actors and directors. CSF also offers wine, beer and boxed dinners in the gardens and concessions at both the Mary Rippon and University Th eatres.