An Iliad
Sunday, July 7 | 3-4:30 pm
Join us for a one-man show,
performed by Summer Youth Theatre guest artist,
Daniel Bird Tobin!
Poetry, humor, the ancient tale of the Trojan War, and the modern world collide in this retelling of Homer’s classic, captivating theatrical experience. The setting is simple: the empty theater. The time is now. The lone figure onstage is a storyteller — possibly Homer, possibly one of the many bards who followed in his footsteps. He is fated to tell and retell this story throughout history.
The original production, featuring Denis O’Hare (and co-written by O’Hare and Lisa Peterson), was described by Time Out New York as “pure theater: shocking, glorious, primal and deeply satisfying.” In contrast to O’Hare’s older, grizzled war veteran, this version features the 29-year-old Daniel Bird Tobin as a much younger figure. As our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan transform into new arenas of battle around the world, our soldiers in their twenties might have seen the same decade of battle as those Greeks and Trojans in antiquity. This production attempts to approach their spirit, their struggle, their vitality.
Daniel Bird Tobin (director of Summer Youth Theatre’s The Odyssey this summer and Robin Hood in summer of 2018) has performed An Iliad for over six years across the United States and in England. Reviews have called the performance “riveting” and “astounding.” One reviewer said, “I had assumed he would be good, but I really wasn’t prepared for how much more than good he was.”
Runtime: 95 minutes
Recommend for ages 13 and up due to language and violence.
$5 Suggested Donation at the Door