Royal Shakespeare Company in association with Canada's National Arts Centre.
As portrayed in Homer's Odyssey, Penelope - wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy - has become a symbol of wifely duty and devotion, enduring twenty years of waiting when her husband goes off to fight in the Trojan War. As she fends off the attentions of a hundred greedy suitors, travelling minstrels regale her with news of Odysseus' epic adventures around the Mediterranean - slaying monsters and grappling with amorous goddesses. When Odysseus finally comes home, he kills her suitors and then, in an act that served as little more than a footnote in Homer's original story, inexplicably hangs Penelope's twelve beloved maids.
Now, Penelope and her chorus of wronged maids get the chance to tell their side of the story, through song, dance and storytelling in a new stage version by Margaret Atwood of her own wry, witty and wise novel.
Margaret Atwood is an acclaimed novelist and poet whose many works include The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, Oryx and Crake and The Blind Assassin for which she won the Man Booker Prize. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, she has been awarded the Norwegian Order of Literary Merit and French Chevalier dans I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She is a Foreign Honorary Member for Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and lives in Toronto.
The Penelopiad plays in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 27 July - 18 August 2007.
Running time
The running time for The Penelopiad is 1 hour and 30 minutes with no interval.
Access performances
Assisted performances on 10 August, 11 August.
