As the conflict rages around the walls of the city (whose dilemma strangely resembles that of our world today), the passionate characters in Dress of Fire are as much preoccupied by their own personal dramas as by the impending disaster that will sweep it all away.

The moral and ethical questions surrounding war are just as controversial today as they were in ancient times, as Nina Kethevan aims to show in Dress of Fire. The drama directed by Ioan Ardelean at 13th St. Repertory Theater challenges us to compare our modern world to its take on the fall of Troy, where leaders fight to make their mark on history at the expense of others’ lives. The show plays like a series of intertwined vignettes among the mythical Trojan nobles – each revealing their own reactions to the war and its personal effects. There’s Helen (Elena Rusconi) who works tirelessly to weave a tapestry for preservation but ignores the futility of her efforts in a time of destruction. And there’s Cassandra (Lindsay Gitter), an outspoken feminist who refuses marriage and begs her father King Priam (Austin Pendleton) to end the war. But everyone in the kingdom lives under the watchful gaze of Queen Hecuba (Alexandra Laliberte) who struggles to define her identity apart from her husband Priam and come to terms with his violent choices. The entire cast delivers impressive performances despite obvious challenges presented by the material. Kethevan’s classical-style writing is dense, …Read more