Janus Theatre's 'An Iliad' offers modern take on ancient tale

The Janus Theatre's production of "An Iliad" may cause some confusion as it differs from the epic Greek poem, "The Iliad."

"An Iliad" is a play written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, based on the translation of "The Iliad" by Robert Fagles.

"'The Iliad' is the epic poem and 'An Iliad' is our version, as if you and I attended something together and later told others our version of the story. It might be a bit different but the main core would be similar," said cast member Lori Holm of Batavia.

Both pieces discuss war, Greek gods and how it all affects ordinary people.

"'An Iliad' ties in the excitement of the tales of the Greek gods' involvement in people's lives especially during times of war," Holm said. "There's reference to the fact that war has been an ongoing thing in history, as well as currently and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

"It's as if we were able to live during those times and experience that and then the four of us are stepping into a room and giving you our account, sharing what we saw, what we remember, what we felt like," she explained.

"It's a new play about an ancient story," said director and cast member Sean Hargadon of Elgin. "It's basically telling the story from the perspective of a man/woman/poet who's telling the story over and over again because the conflict in the world has never ended."

One of the theater company's personal touches is replacing what has become the typical representation of the muse in past productions - a cellist - with a technical director.

"In our case, we thought it would be interesting since it's a modern retelling, a muse is the designers and technicians that make the lights and sound," Hargadon said. "My thinking was, what if the tech designer comes on stage and everything gets fired up?"

Usually a one-person show, Janus's production features four storytellers, none of which are named.

"One thing we noticed when we did our research is that you're allowed to take liberties when staging it, whether with a man or a woman. I thought I would do both and have an ensemble of actors rather than one or the other."

Hargadon's role has evolved with the production. In the beginning Hargadon was the director, but after an actor's job necessitated traveling and a replacement was not on hand, Hargadon stepped into the actor's shoes.

"I thought, 'I'll do it myself and have my stage director look out for me,' because you can't direct yourself in a production."

Holm credits Hargadon's direction for giving the actors a clear perspective and the ability to speak the lines - some of which are in Greek - with authority.

"When it was first brought to my attention, it felt daunting; however, the more we have played with it and experimented with what we'd like to do, experimented with how we would like these words to roll off our tongue, it's become very comfortable, it's very available, it's very conversational," Holm said.

"Sean has led us into the unexpected in almost every rehearsal," she added. "Tonight we work in this space, tonight we're going to work in this building, we're going to throw a couple of people in the room with you. Tonight we're going to work in a large space then we're going to work in a tiny room. We're going to speak the words to each other. Everything we've been rehearsing, we've been rehearsing differently every night."

As director, Hargadon chose "An Iliad" because of the richness and complexity of the work.

"I chose the piece because I was excited about the way it is written and the way it could be staged. I love the idea of an open stage and a few props to tell the story.

"I like that you think of it as a dusty thing," Hargadon added. "It isn't just a faithful retelling of Troy and Helen. It talks about those people, it talks about what's happened since then and what's happened in between."

Despite the nature of the play, Hargadon assures that there are some funny moments.

"It changes gears very often," he said. "It can be very funny and then suddenly it gets really serious."

According to Holm, the play feels like a normal discussion in the average person's life.

"The feel that we're creating is that you could be in a pub, you could be in a book discussion group, you could be in a coffee house and this play is doing that. It's sharing thoughts and opinions on really heavy material, but doing so in a way that makes it something you might see on TV today or hear those discussions when you walk into a room."

"I think the hardest challenge for the audience is getting there," Hargadon said. "Once you get in your seats and you give us about 10 minutes, it grabs you."

Other cast members include Ann Marie Nordby of Arlington Heights and Joe Cattogio of Chicago.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 19-28, at Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., eighth floor, in downtown Elgin. Tickets are $16, Visit janusplays.com.

If you go

What: Janus Theatre Company's production of "An Iliad"

When: Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 19-28

Where: Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., eighth floor, Elgin.

Tickets: $16, Visit <a href="http://janusplays.com">janusplays.com</a>.