Have you ever wondered how actors relate to their characters? We asked them few questions about it. Read on in order to find out…
AMY NOBLE (Polyxena):
1. Is Polyxena a naive character?
Polyxena starts the play as a fairly naive adolescent: she has been reasonably sheltered from the war over the past ten years, and she still believes firmly in fairytales – Hecuba, her mother, has only encouraged this. Over the course of the play, however, I think she becomes much more self-aware, much more critical of the adults who surround her and much more confident in achieving what she wants.
2. How is she affected by the war?
In terms of the impact that the war has had on her family, Polyxena is acutely aware of the loss of her father and her brothers – one of whom she saw murdered in the Temple. It is likely that when Troy fell she witnessed female friends, maids and household staff being abused by the Greek warriors, and I think she is hugely fearful that Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra and herself might be similarly brutalised. Although it sounds perverse, Polyxena is ultimately affected by war in what she would say is a very positive way, as the war allows her to meet Achilles with whom she falls in love. It is this love that keeps her going and gives her the strength to endure the terrible conditions in the cave.
3. Would you die for love?
I absolutely would die for love, yes. My friends, my family and my boyfriend mean the world to me and I would do anything to try and protect them – and if that meant throwing myself in front of a bus, I’d do it. That having been said (if any of you are reading this, Jim, family and friends), I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put this to the test any time soon. Stay away from the curb… I’m not quite as extreme as Polyxena!
IAIN BATCHELOR (Kratos):
1. Is Kratos capable of empathy?
I think, as humans, we are empathetic by our very nature- Suffering is unavoidable, and when we see others struggle, we relate to that. Soldiers are asked to sacrifice individual needs for the good of the mass mentality. Somewhere in the act of war, and in the case of the Greeks, assisting mass murder on a gargantuan scale has got to completely devastate your evaluation of suffering and the sanctity of life. Kratos is trying very hard to get back to that place of normality by trying (and often failing) to integrate himself with the royal Trojan women. Femininity is coveted by these military men through out Glyn’s play, and in Kratos’ situation, it’s searching for a maternal figure which he sees in Hecabe. I think empathy is what he desires the most.
2. What makes soldiers torment captives?
Boredom. It’s a scary thought to use that as an answer to such a massive human rights dilemma, but something that has cropped up time and again in rehearsals is the sheer range of possibilities the human imagination is open to when it’s idle. You’re mind can take you places you never wanted to go- contexts you never thought you were capable of realising- it can scare you , excite you, disgust you. Ten years stuck in a foreign land you have no desire of understanding must set your nerves on edge. Also, being the ‘master’ gives you free licence to shape your own ethical code, and without being regulated, that imagination can run wild to devastating effect. The willingness to isolate and ignore the mental trauma soldiers must endure, in the modern age, astounds me.
After Troy 