The Hecubae

Somewhere, during some unspecified time, women huddle together in a refugee camp. They bemoan the lack of supplies, their murdered families and the repeated rapes by unseen soldiers. These scenes are interspersed with flashbacks to Queen Hecuba’s plight following the fall of Troy.

The all-female cast moves back and forth between Troy and…somewhere with a change of scarf placement and the sound of a plaintive cello. Why scarves? Why a cello? Why the story of Hecuba? None of these questions is remotely addressed. Apparently, it’s enough to gather victimized straw women together without bothering to give them character or action beyond their suffering. The tragedy of war is timeless, fair enough, but removing all sign of time and place does not make a story universal; it merely excises motivation and meaning—which is some trick considering that The Hecubae is inspired by Euripides. In place of a narrative, we have a one-note announcement clanged in our faces ad nauseam: Rape is bad. Thank you for the revelation. We would like to return the favor by pointing out that “conceptual” is not a concept.

• More theater reviews
• More Theater articles