Brigham Young University will welcome the University of Utah’s Classical Greek Theatre Festival and its performance of Euripides’ “Helen” on Monday, Oct. 1, at 5 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets are $10 or $7 with a BYU or student ID and can be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, by calling (801) 422-4322 or by visiting performances.byu.edu.
The performance will be preceded by a free lecture at 4 p.m. given by James Svendsen, the play’s producer and dramaturg.
“Helen” tells the tale of the supposed cause of the Trojan War: Helen, the queen of Sparta, and her elopement with Paris, the king of Troy.
Euripides’ version of the story of Helen and the Trojan War differs from the traditional telling and has been called by some a romantic comedy rather than a true tragedy. In Euripides’ version, Helen never actually arrives in Troy, but is instead secretly replaced by the gods with a fake Helen who is the one who actually escapes with Paris and taken to Troy.
In addition to Svendsen, the production team includes Barbara Smith, director; Bob Nelson, producer; and Devon Carter, stage manager.
The Classical Greek Theatre Festival is the largest and longest-running festival of classical Greek theatre in the country. The annual event is designed to educate communities and campuses across the Southwest about classical Greek theatre.
For more information, contact James Svendsen at (801) 581-4607 or Tillie Wilber at (801) 581-5404.
Writer: Aaron Searle
