The Iliad
By Chris Hannan
Directed by Lyceum Artistic Director Mark Thomson
“… There is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of longing, the lover’s whisper, irresistible – magic to make the sanest man go mad.”
The Gods of Olympus take their sides and the fates of all men hang in the balance. On the battlefield of Troy the scene is set for the final conflict to claim the beautiful Helen. Only the invincible Greek warrior Achilles can tip the scales of war to glory or defeat, but humiliated by his leader Agamemnon, he is stubbornly refusing to join the fray.
Homer's Iliad, the greatest and most influential epic poem ever written, tells of the tragic and bloody climax to the ten-year siege of Troy; the darkest episode in the Trojan War.
This great tale of gods and heroes, love, jealousy and revenge is brought to visceral life in a brand new adaptation by award winning Scottish Playwright Chris Hannan (Crime and Punishment, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn, Shining Souls).
#ILIAD | #lyceum50
Production made possible by
Claire & Mark Urquhart
Additional support from
Geraldine Kirkpatrick Charitable Trust
Age recommendation: 14+
Cast and Credits
CAST
In alphabetical order
Jennifer Black - Hecuba / Servant to the Gods
Peter Bray - Paris / River
Emanuella Cole - Hera
Richard Conlon - Zeus
Amiera Darwish - Brieses / Helen / Aphrodite
Ben Dilloway - Hector
Ron Donachie - Agamemnon / Priam
Melody Grove - Thetis / Andromache
Mark Holgate - Patroclus
Reuben Johnson - Diomede / Lycaon
Daniel Poyser - Ulysses / Hephaestus
Ben Turner - Achilles
CREATIVE TEAM
Director Mark Thomson
Writer Chris Hannan
Set Designer Karen Tennent
Lighting Designer Simon Wilkinson
Costume Designer Megan Baker
Composer Claire McKenzie
Fight Director Raymond Short
Casting Director Lotte Hines
Assistant Director Laura Cameron-Lewis
Historical Advisor Owen Dudley Edwards
Video
Dates and Times
20 April – 14 May 2016
Previews
20, 21 and 22 April, 7.30pm
£10 (Preview tickets on sale here)
EVENINGS, 7.30pm
Tuesday - Saturday
MATINEES, 2pm
Wednesdays and Saturdays
Running time: Approximately 2hrs 50minutes, including one 20 minute interval
For Access performances see below.
Prices
Individual Tickets
EVENINGS, 7.30pm
Tuesday through Saturday, £15 - £29.50
MATINEES, 2pm
Wednesdays and Saturdays, £13- £25
Concessions
From £10, not available on Premium Seats
All prices guaranteed until 5 September 2015
Accessibility
AUDIO DESCRIBED
- Thursday 5 May - 7.30pm
- Touch Tour - 6.15pm
- Saturday 7 May - 2pm
- Touch Tour - 12.45pm
BSL INTERPRETED
- Wednesday 11 May- 7.30pm
CAPTIONED
- Saturday 14 May - 2pm
Read The Lyceum's Access Statement: click here
Press Coverage
REVIEWS
★★★★★
"Immense...Vital, intriguing and compelling"
The Stage
★★★★
"an ensemble production that is bold, dynamic and majestic"
The Guardian
★★★★
"an epic staging that invests Homer's poetry with a sadly familiar flesh and blood relevance"
The Herald
★★★★
"Compelling...Epic in scope, huge in sweep and utterly human"
All Edinburgh Theatre
★★★★
"in [The Iliad, Mark Thomson] finds the contemporary and the eternal that makes us keep coming back to the ancient myths"
What's On Stage
★★★★
"a remarkable achievement"
Edinburgh Guide
★★★★
"it works magnificently...as the drama of The Iliad unfold before me, I felt it come alive once more, as if it had found its natural home in the footsteps & throat-beams of actors"
Mumble Theatre
"Emmanuella Cole is magnificent throughout as Zeus’s betrayed and furious wife Hera, offering a gorgeous masterclass in how to combine every possible meaning of the word goddess"
The Scotsman
PREVIEW PRESS
-
“What I’ve tried to do is be sure that every season, there is something on stage for everybody in Edinburgh”
Mark Thomson talks to Liam Rudden in the Edinburgh Evening News -
"When Melody Grove stepped onto the red carpet with Mark Rylance at this year's Olivier Awards..."
Neil Cooper talks to Iliad cast member Melody Grove about her journey from The Lyceum to Olivier nominations in The Herald - "...in a time of global crisis, we have this impulse to look back to the roots of our civilisation"
Mark Thomson talks to Joyce McMillan in The Scotsman
- "...he is bristling with creative energy."
Mark Brown interviews Mark Thomson in the Sunday Herald
Gallery
Rehearsal photos:
Production photos:
