An Iliad: A Modern Retelling of Homer’s Epic

“Spellbinding . . . Smartly conceived and impressively executed, An Iliad relates an age-old story that resonates with tragic meaning today.” —New York Times Masterfully adapted by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare from Robert Fagles’s acclaimed translation, An Iliad telescopes Homer’s Trojan War epic into a gripping monologue delivered by The Poet, which captures both the heroism and horror of war. Crafted around the stories of Achilles and Hector, in language that is by turns poetic and conversational, An Iliad brilliantly refreshes this world classic. What emerges is a powerful piece of theatrical storytelling that vividly drives home the timelessness of humankind’s compulsion toward violence.Winner, Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards “Mr. O’Hare and Ms. Peterson have condensed the long sweep of The Iliad s narrative . . . with intelligence . . . chatty, informal, occasionally spiced by digressions that, echoing Homer’s brilliant use of simile, seek humble parallels in contemporary life to the passions that inflamed the Greeks and Trojans.” —Ben Brantley, New York Times “The language sears impossible-to-stage tableaux of death and destruction on your mind’s eye.” —Time Out New York “[A] sleek distillation of Homer’s epic . . . An Iliad supports classicists’ claim—often dismissed today— that canonical works can still speak to us profoundly.” —Variety Read more