The Trojan war will not take place
Encyclopedia
The Trojan War Will Not Take Place (French title: La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu) is a play written in 1935 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux
. In 1955 it was translated into English by Christopher Fry
. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities
.
Within the framework of the Iliad
ic myth of the Trojan War
, Giraudoux criticizes diplomacy and the behaviour of the national leaders and intellectuals who brought about World War I
and the lead-up to World War II
.
. It follows the struggle of the disillusioned Trojan military commander Hector
, supported by the women of Troy, as he tries to avoid war with the Greeks
. Hector's wife Andromache
is pregnant, and this reinforces his desire for peace. Along with his worldly-wise mother Hecuba
, Hector leads the anti-war argument and tries to persuade his brother Paris
to return Paris's beautiful but vapid captive Helen to Greece
. Giraudoux presents Helen as not only an object of desire, but the epitome of destiny itself. She claims that she can see the future by seeing what is coloured in her mind, and she sees war. For Hector, Helen means only war and destruction. But for the other Trojan men, led by the poet Demokos, she represents an opportunity for glory; and they are eager to have others fight a war in her name. The peace agreement Hector negotiates with the visiting Greek commander Ulysses
, is no match for Demokos's deliberate lies, and at the end of the play, the seer Cassandra
's cynical prediction that war cannot be avoided has been proven right.
, in The Drama of Jean Giraudoux, vol. 1 (1963).
La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu was first performed on 21 November 1935 in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in a production by Louis Jouvet
with Jouvet as Hector, and the role of Helen played by Madeleine Ozeray
.
The translation by Christopher Fry was first presented on 3 October 1955 in New York City by The Playwrights' Company with a British cast starring Michael Redgrave
as Hector, Leueen MacGrath
as Cassandra, and Barbara Jefford
as Andromache.
In 1956 this production was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play
. Michael Redgrave was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
, and Diane Cilento
(Helen) was nominated for Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
. It also won the New York Drama Critics Circle award for Best Foreign Play.
Adapted by William Bast
, Tiger at the Gates was an "ITV Play of the Week" in Britain, airing 25 October 1960 (Season 6, Episode 8).
A Broadway revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
in 1968, starring Philip Bosco
as Hector, ran for 44 performances.
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
. In 1955 it was translated into English by Christopher Fry
Christopher Fry
Christopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities
Classical unities
The classical unities, Aristotelian unities or three unities are rules for drama derived from a passage in Aristotle's Poetics. In their neoclassical form they are as follows:...
.
Within the framework of the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
ic myth of the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, Giraudoux criticizes diplomacy and the behaviour of the national leaders and intellectuals who brought about World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the lead-up to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Plot summary
The play takes place the day before the outbreak of the Trojan War inside the gates of the city of TroyTroy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
. It follows the struggle of the disillusioned Trojan military commander Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
, supported by the women of Troy, as he tries to avoid war with the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
. Hector's wife Andromache
Andromache
In Greek mythology, Andromache was the wife of Hector and daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled...
is pregnant, and this reinforces his desire for peace. Along with his worldly-wise mother Hecuba
Hecuba
Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War, with whom she had 19 children. These children included several major characters of Homer's Iliad such as the warriors Hector and Paris, and the prophetess Cassandra...
, Hector leads the anti-war argument and tries to persuade his brother Paris
Paris (mythology)
Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
to return Paris's beautiful but vapid captive Helen to Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
. Giraudoux presents Helen as not only an object of desire, but the epitome of destiny itself. She claims that she can see the future by seeing what is coloured in her mind, and she sees war. For Hector, Helen means only war and destruction. But for the other Trojan men, led by the poet Demokos, she represents an opportunity for glory; and they are eager to have others fight a war in her name. The peace agreement Hector negotiates with the visiting Greek commander Ulysses
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, is no match for Demokos's deliberate lies, and at the end of the play, the seer Cassandra
Cassandra
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy...
's cynical prediction that war cannot be avoided has been proven right.
Original productions
La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu was translated into English as Tiger at the Gates by Christopher FryChristopher Fry
Christopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
, in The Drama of Jean Giraudoux, vol. 1 (1963).
La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu was first performed on 21 November 1935 in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in a production by Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
with Jouvet as Hector, and the role of Helen played by Madeleine Ozeray
Madeleine Ozeray
Madeleine Ozeray , was a French stage and film actress. She appeared in many films between 1932 and 1980...
.
The translation by Christopher Fry was first presented on 3 October 1955 in New York City by The Playwrights' Company with a British cast starring Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
as Hector, Leueen MacGrath
Leueen MacGrath
Leueen MacGrath was a British actress and playwright and the second wife of George S. Kaufman, from 1949 until their divorce in 1957....
as Cassandra, and Barbara Jefford
Barbara Jefford
Barbara Jefford, OBE is a British Shakespearean actress best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre, and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses.-Early life:Jefford was born Mary Barbara Jefford in...
as Andromache.
In 1956 this production was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play
Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
. Michael Redgrave was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
, and Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento was an Australian theatre and film actress and author.-Biography:Cilento's parents, Sir Raphael Cilento and Lady Phyllis Cilento, were both distinguished medical practitioners....
(Helen) was nominated for Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
This is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:...
. It also won the New York Drama Critics Circle award for Best Foreign Play.
Adapted by William Bast
William Bast
William Bast is an American screenwriter and author currently living in Los Angeles. In addition to writing scripts for motion pictures and television, he is the author of two biographies of the screen actor James Dean.-Early life:...
, Tiger at the Gates was an "ITV Play of the Week" in Britain, airing 25 October 1960 (Season 6, Episode 8).
A Broadway revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
in 1968, starring Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
as Hector, ran for 44 performances.
External links
- La guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu (French)