Troilus & Cressida by William shakespeare


Produced by the University of Minnesota

Shakespeare’s re-imagining of the battle of Troy featuring familiar heroes such as Achilles, Ajax, and Ulysses, but seen in a harsher light. It is a retelling that focuses heavily on the faults of mankind and the dynamics in an unhealthy society.

 

Production Photos

Photo Credit: Dan Norman

The Greek Camp

Helen

Troilus

Ulysses

Hector and Nestor embracing in the Greek camp.

The Trojans

Thersites and Ajax

Cressida, Pandarus, and Alexandra

Cassandra

Nestor

Troilus

Thersites

King Priam, Paris, and Helenus

Patroclus, Achilles, and Ulysses

Andromache, Cressida, and Cassandra

Troilus

Helenus

Helen/Prologue

Aeneas

Achilles

Ajax

Cressida

Priam

Helen

Agamemnon

Achilles

Calchas

Hector

Andromache

Pandarus

Menelaus

Ulysses

Patroclus

Paris

Cassandra

Alexandra

Nestor

Diomedes

Thersites

 

Final Renderings

 

Initial Renderings

 

Character Research

 

Detailed Research

 

Initial Research/Concept

This production is set in a post apocalyptic world. The director wanted to explore a time-less look with a dystopian twist, leaning into the chaos that the story invokes. As I designed I wanted to include plenty of nods to the original Grecian silhouette as well as Elizabethan hints layered on the contemporary, post apocalyptic design. I wanted to emphasize the ways that the men in power decorated themselves with meaningless trophies while the women had little power beyond the sexual value men gave them. It’s a design focusing on power dynamics of men vs. women, powerful vs. weak, and cunning vs. virtue.

Production Credits

Director: Michelle O’Neill

Stage Manager: Rebecca Wickert

Scenic Designer: Kirsten Jolly

Lighting Designer: Wesley Cone

Sound Designer: Bailey Fenn