Inda's 2019 Season at Syracuse Greek Theatre Features All-Female Leads

The Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico (Inda) has announced its 2019 season at the Teatro Greco di Siracusa, featuring three classical plays with exclusively female protagonists. The season opens on May 9 with Euripides' 'Elena,' directed by Davide Livermore, who also serves as set designer. The production features Laura Marinoni as Elena, with a black Styx setting and black crinolines. The plot twists the myth: Paris did not abduct Helen but a phantom. Livermore notes that Helen's improbable truth forces her to invent and lie to survive. On May 10, Euripides' 'Le Troiane' (The Trojan Women) premieres, directed by Muriel Mayette, with Maddalena Crippa as Ecuba. Mayette draws parallels to contemporary refugee crises and the 9/11 attacks. Architect Stefano Boeri contributes a set of dead wood from fallen trees in Carnia, symbolizing destruction. On June 28, Aristophanes' 'Lisistrata' (Lysistrata) opens, directed by Tullio Solenghi, starring Elisabetta Pozzi as the title character who leads a sex strike to end war. All three actresses have performed previously at the theatre: Marinoni as Andromaca and Giocasta, Crippa as Medea and Clitennestra, and Pozzi in five prior roles. The directors are making their debut at the Greek Theatre, a challenging venue due to its size, historical glory, and archaeological conservation constraints.