★★★★★
Is it possible to reduce an epic poem of warring gods and men to 100 minutes yet still manifest a universe of soul-rendering destruction that, 3000 years later, is accessible and meaningful to us? This stunning Sydney Theatre Company production of An Iliad, directed by Damien Ryan, replies emphatically, yes.
The Poet (David Wenham) shuffles onto a stage resembling an industrial warehouse. He is dragging a cart laden with worldly goods, which will become props for his tale. Speaking a few verses of the old language, the Poet struggles with his recollection of the ancient tale of Hector and Achilles.
Emerging from the jumble of the cart, his Muse (the wonderfully talented Helen Svoboda) appears, supporting and guiding the Poet’s story with song and a double bass. Even as he prefers to forget, the Poet must remember, for – as history shows – we do not. He implores us, “Do you see?”
Homer’s Iliad chronicles a few months in the last year of the Trojan War. When the leader of the Greek forces, Agamemnon, takes Achilles’ companion Briseis for himself, an enraged Achilles refuses any further part in the war. Things do not go well for the Greeks.
But when Achilles’ dear friend Patroclus is killed by the Trojan hero, Hector, Achilles re-enters the fray, and his wrath is all-consuming. The play suggests that the same wasteful rage is echoed in every war since, yet remains an irreducible part of the human condition.
The ‘An’ in the play’s title is important, for this play is not simply a retelling of Homer’s story. Poems are part of the oral tradition of story-telling, and in the Poet, writers Lisa Peterson & Denis O’Hare have created a character who harks back to the origins of theatre.
He’s a traveller, a bard eking out an existence; perhaps a mythic “teller of tales,” tragically fated Sisyphus-like to keep telling his story until the end of all wars. We, the audience, are his audience. An Iliad glories in the art and importance of storytelling, of theatre – especially for stories like Homer’s.
Be assured, this is not some stuffy history lesson. It heaves with anger and sorrow. And there’s also humour, wryly delivered by Wenham, that leavens the seriousness of the subject without detracting from it.
Such is Wenham’s control that he can transform from naturalistic storyteller one minute to a versifying, raging Achilles the next. He becomes the very embodiment of human contradiction – rage and empathy. It is a performance that would comfortably command a world stage.
An Iliad is not just a solo act. Helen Svoboda is superbly graceful as the Poet’s muse. As well as providing the musical composition, her keening to the mournful accompaniment of her double bass is heartbreaking. Her chemistry with Wenham works beautifully.
This is such a clever production. Alex Berlage’s lighting creates a dramatic visual narrative of its own (an enormous Achilles in shadowed form is later matched in scale by a shimmering golden shield).
Design from Charles Davis is an exercise in the narrative economy of simple props – a scarf to denote character, or a dramatic flaming helmet. The clash of armies rendered by chains in a bucket.
Sound design from Brady Watkins is alternately unsettling and deeply moving. Orchestrating all this is the confident hand of Damien Ryan, who surely must be a strong contender for our best theatre director.
Towards the end of the play, the Poet offers up a list of wars. Pages and pages. A prodigious feat of memory on Wenham’s part, it is moreover a devastating indictment of our capacity for destruction, and the audience is stunned into silence. It’s spine-tingling.
An Iliad is magnificent theatre, delivered with assurance and utter conviction. Don’t miss it.
An Iliad is presented by Sydney Theatre Company and runs to 22 June at Wharf 1 Theatre. Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay Sydney NSW 2000.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/2026/productions/an-iliad
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/sydneytheatreco/
Photo credits: Daniel Boud
Leave a Reply