Troilus and Cressida : [prompt book, act 1, 1976].

[Stratford-upon-Avon, England : Royal Shakespeare Company], 1976-1977.

1 online resource (1 volume).

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This was John Barton's third production of Troilus and Cressida for the Company (what came to be known as his 'signature play'), and one in which he sought to emphasise the play's ambiguities. Barton's interpretation for the 1976 production was based on the key line Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery ( spoken by Thersites, in Act 5 Scene 2). The production was staged on the fixed wooden set designed by Chris Dyer and John Napier for the entire 1976 season at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It consisted of a jutting hexagonal stage and vertical beams, the bases of which in this production were sometimes decorated with large grotesque masks. The costumes designed by Dyer were generally classical. When Cressida arrived in the Greek camp, she was dressed like a courtesan (prostitute) of the period. Some of the warriors, such as Hector, wore elaborate plumed helmets, although in the case of the Trojans very little else. Fascinated by narrative sagas like the Trojan War, Barton went on to direct a multi-play cycle The Greeks for the RSC in 1980. The Prologue was spoken by only one of the listed actors at each performance.

Royal Shakespeare company archives: From playwrights to performance, 1889-2013.

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December 18, 2023

Director, John Barton ; Designer, Chris Dyer ; Composer/arranger, Guy Woolfenden ; Choreographer, Anna Raphael.

Guard, Pippa; Church, Tony; Gwilym, Mike; Taylor, Keith; Nettles, John; Clinton, Dennis; Moriarty, Paul; Griffiths, Richard Thomas; Durden, Richard; Waller, David; Witkin, Jacob; Lyon, David; Hicks, Greg; Whitworth, Paul; Pennington, Michael; Shelley, Paul; Woodward, Peter; Annis, Francesca; Shelley, Barbara; Pollitt, Clyde; Preston, Leonard; Davies, Meg; Brooke, Paul; Coburn, Brian; Beavis, Ivan; Grace, Nickolas; Ellis, Robin; Leigh-Hunt, Barbara; Viner, Frances; Tyrrell, Norman

Promptbooks.