The Last Days of Troy, The Globe

Award-winning poet Simon Armitage has turned his creative skill to one of literature's most iconic tales of war and revenge to mark the Centenary of World War One. The Last Days of Troy, is an imagined final chapter of Homer’s Iliad. The subtle exploration of conflict is produced in collaboration with Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre and will be coming to The Globe this summer. 

The city of Troy, on the coast of the Aegean sea, was laid siege to by the Greeks in order to take back the abducted Greek queen, Helen— or at the least, avenge her cuckolded husband. Heroes abound on either side and the love story of Helen and Prince Paris of Troy has been told time and again in many forms for centuries, even by Shakespeare himself. But this unique new show forms an almost epilogue, depicting the brutal end and aftermath of the ten year siege. Whilst mortal men fight tooth and nail at the city’s gates, the gods of Olympus resolve to intervene. 

In an audacious piece of casting, supermodel and Cambridge graduate  Lily Cole will play Helen of Troy.  Having already shown considerable acting talent in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, Cole will bring more than just beauty to the role. Armitage describes how her intelligence and generosity are already apparent in the portrayal of Helen. He adds: "It was always crucial that I found a voice and personality for Helen. She is a woman who is constantly being described by others, mostly men, and I think there is a moment when she is no longer willing to be told who and what she is.”

The Pantheon of gods includes the king Zeus (Richard Bremmer, of Harry Potter film fame), his wife Hera (Gillian Bevan, who appeared last year in Billy Elliot in the West End) and Athena, goddess of wisdom and war (Francesca Zoutewelle, a young RADA actress seen in the latest series of Poirot). 

Nick Bagnall is directing. This talented young director is already a familiar face at The Globe, taking a stunning Henry VI on tour with their company last year, and was praised by reviewers for “making even the political rivalries compelling.” By all accounts, this will be a particularly apt production to honour the World War One centenary, as both writer and director highlight the brutality of a prolonged war, and the dangerous gods that walk among men.