Euripides’ Hecuba | Stanford Repertory Theater

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT), Artistic Director Rush Rehm organized their most ambitious summer festival to date, a production of Hecuba/Helen adapted by Rush Rehm and Courtney Walsh, with Courtney Walsh starring in the title roles. The production of Hecuba/Helen led to the production of Euripides’ Hecuba on the mainstage theater of the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation (MCF), September 7, 8, and 9, at 8 pm. Hecuba was presented in Rehm’s English translation, adapted by Rehm and Walsh, with Greek supertitles prepared by Katerina Zacharia.

Hecuba is the fruit of an ongoing collaboration between SRT and MCF, involving Rehm and Walsh (including workshops at MCF on Greek tragic choruses), and SRT and MCF Artistic Associate, Katerina Zacharia, Prof. of Classics at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Joining an all Greek cast (including Socrates Alafouzos, who plays Odysseus and Polymnestor), the acclaimed Greek actress Kerasia Samara performs the title role in Hecuba. With stirring music, vibrant choreography, and stunning visual effects, the play reminds us of war’s consequences on the women who pick up the pieces and carry on.

Rush Rehm and Katerina Zacharia held auditions in the spring at MCF, selecting and hiring a talented cast of English speaking Greek actors. The opportunity to work with Rush Rehm (Professor of Theater and Classics at Stanford University, with significant publications on classical Greek tragedy) allows the Greek actors to approach this great play of Euripides from a different angle. Working with Prof. Rehm and his Stanford colleague Aleta Hayes as a choreographer (with major credits in the United States and Europe, including a world tour as Satan in Robert Wilson’s The Temptation of St. Anthony) also will help the actors promote their work on the international market.

A few words about the experience of this collaboration between SRT and the Greek actors:
Kerasia Samara: “For an actor, the interest is focused on recalling again the original ideas transcribing them into a foreign language. On the other hand, the actor is compelled to channel this energy that these ideas provoke towards a completely different music score.”

Socrates Alafouzos: “In the last few years, my artistic journey took me abroad to beautiful stations and brought me many gifts. An unexpected gift is my participation in this production which offers to 12 Greek actors the rare opportunity to interpret in English a classical Greek tragedy, to work towards cultivating their acting skills, and indeed to do so under the aegis of Stanford Repertory Theater, part of a great university renowned for its contribution to the arts.”

Anastasia Pelli: “This is my first role following my recent graduation from Drama School, and presents me with a huge opportunity to interpret the role of Polyxena and ever more so, in English. Though challenging, this is an important experience to collaborate with Stanford University and discover new ways of approaching such emblematic texts.”

Cast
Hecuba: Kerasia Samara
Polymnestor/Odysseus: Socrates Alafouzos
Chorus:Theodora Douska, Ifigenia Karamitrou, Ero Lefa, Natasa Papadaki, Anthi Savvaki, Dimitra Tarousi, Maria Tzanoukaki
Agamemnon: Yannis Askaroglou
Polyxena: Anastasia Plelli
Talthybius: Achilles Vatrikas
Polydorus: Ero Lefa
Nurse: Maria Tzanoukaki

A few words about SRT’s production of Hecuba
In March 2018, SRT Artistic Director Rush Rehm led Stanford Classics majors on a trip to the Argolid in Greece. In May he participated in a conference “Euripides – the Innovator, part III” in Gardzienice, Poland, where he discussed motifs of marriage, sacrifice, and death in Euripides. At the end of May, he gave a lecture on SRT’s production for Classics and Theater students at the University of Rethymnon, Crete. SRT 2018 Summer Festival at Stanford University included a series of seminars and a symposium, as well as screenings of Michael Cacoyannis’ trilogy, Electra, The Trojan Women, and Iphigenia. Prof. Zacharia was the moderator for the post- screening Q & A for the Cacoyannis’ trilogy, as well as a speaker at the symposium, discussing the presentation of the women of Troy in film.

Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT)
Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT) brings professional theater to the Stanford community year-round, presenting challenging plays in a fresh, lively, and informed manner.Stanford students are also offered the opportunity to work with theater professionals in a meaningful collaboration. SRT is proud to return to MCF. In 2012 the company presented The Wanderings of Odysseus, directed by SRT Artistic Director Rush Rehm, the result of an initiative by Prof. Katerina Zacharia who helped produce the production in collaboration with SRT. She also coordinated a program of workshops, seminars and performances within the framework of ANCIENT DRAMA: Influences & Modern Approaches, funded by the European Fund for Regional Development, within the framework of the Attica Regional Operational Programme of the NSRF 2007-2013, of the Ministry of Education & Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports.