Bottom Line: Extraordinary direction of Trojan Women by Leonidas Loizides

The theatergoers had a unique experience at the Cultural Center of New York on 18th of September. Loizides directed a masterpiece that none will ever forget. He managed to transform "Trojan Women" of Euripides into a unique performance that felt as if it was written in our times, even though the script was written 2500 years ago.

Leonidas Loizides sets the play with an imaginative and forward thinking manner. His approach is minimalistic and while he remains loyal to the ancient script and the basic theme of war and despair we can see his signature from the very first second to the last. The speech and the moving were extremely precise giving out the feeling that not a single breath was coming out without it being part of a well organized direction.

Loizides succeeds on getting the best out of each actor, like every great director should be. The cast is young but very promising. The performances of the main roles are captivating. Their grief, their despair is not expressed through exaggerations but through a rather sustained sorrow that reaches immense depth. The audience can feel the darkness in the atmosphere when the silence is sharp as knife. The chorus was a very important element of the performance, something that is often not followed on directions of classical drama. Loizides deserves applauds for managing to realize such a modern adjustment through the way he uses it.

The costumes made by Georgia Koniaviti were designed with respect to every role. Minimalistic but not cheap, enlightened the traits of each character. The music of Mikis Theodorakis lifted the artistic result as high as possible. Altogether the different components were a great match under the mastery of Leonidas Loizides.

It is a lifetime chance for theatergoers and a proof that touring productions of difficult content can be of the highest quality if it's supported by people with passion and persistence, even if it originates from a non-profit theatre organization. I anticipate his next project, he sure is a talent to be followed at the peak of his inspiration, he sets the limit as high as it gets.