Demystifying Cassandra of Troy

A Uruguayan playwright who lives in Paris, Sergio Blanco often looks to ancient Greek tragedies for inspiration for his analyses of our society. That’s certainly the case of Kassandra, a monologue that can be seen from 24 October to 18 November at Sala Tallers at Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC), in a production starring Elisabet Casanovas, directed by Sergi Belbel. The original Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, had the power of prophecy but was cursed never to be believed by those who heard her. In this version of the story, Cassandra was born with the body of a boy wand uses broken English to tell her story of silenced violence from the Odyssey Club, where she survives by offering her body to strangers.

With its dark, even bitter humour, the text touches on issues such as refugees, slavery, uprooting and sexual commerce. Kassandra is a co-production of the TNC and Temporada Alta 2018. Although the production is a monologue, the public will also have their say during the performance which, as the TNC website explains, may last, “Between 1 h 15 min and 1 h 45 min, it will depend on you”.

Additional information is available at the following link.