Dubbed “the chief representative of the antigenre called the Shakespearean ‘problem play’ ” by Jonathan Gil Harris of the Folger Shakespeare Library (FSL), Troilus and Cressida is one of Shakespeare’s least-performed plays. Neither entirely tragic nor comedic, constant fluctuations in character development render this play devoid of the clarity commonly found in Shakespeare’s plays. This makes the play a daunting prospect for any theatre troupe willing to take it on as a production. 

Despite the show’s difficult reputation, the talented team at theatre company Shakespeare BASH’d managed to adapt the play into a wonderful performance that left the crowd roaring with laughter one moment and teary-eyed the next. The production ran from January 29 to February 8 at The Theatre Centre. 

When the play begins, we are nearing the end of the Trojan War. The boastful Greek prince, Achilles (Andrew Iles), frustrates the Greek war council to no end by refusing to fight. He instead prefers to spend all day in his tent alongside his lover and dearest friend Patroclus (Felix Beauchamp). 

Ulysses, the king of Ithaca (Jennifer Działoszynski), the famed commander Aeneas (Rianna Persaud), and the elderly king of Pylos, Nestor (David Mackett), join King Agamemnon (Isaiah Kolundzic) in a council assembly to discuss the issue of Achilles. Although the council’s conversations felt convoluted and lengthy, the humour in the body language of Działoszynski’s Ulysses kept me invested in the outcome.

On the Trojan side, Pandarus (Geoffrey Armour), a skilled archer, plays matchmaker for his niece Cressida (Breanne Tice) and Prince Troilus (Deivan Steele). All of a sudden, Troilus’ sister and Trojan priestess, Cassandra (Kate Martin), who Apollo cursed with the power of prophecy that no one would believe, emerges onto the stage. 

Cassandra steals the spotlight by dramatically proclaiming that Troy would burn if the Trojans do not return Helen to the Greeks. Ignoring her warning, Hector (Jordin Hall), heir to the Greek throne and the mightiest Trojan warrior, challenges the Greeks to combat that ultimately results in his brutal death. 

Meanwhile, when Cressida visits the Greek camp, she is pressured into a relationship with the manipulative Greek prince Diomedes (Austin Eckert), and is later assaulted by him. Thersites (Julia Nish-Lapidus), a dim-witted jester, insults every unfortunate soul who crosses her path, and uses lowly humour to expose the stupidity of the war. Arguably, her most notable victim is the burly, chest-beating warrior Ajax (Adriano Reis), whose comical lack of intellect guards him from offence better than the tactical vest he dons throughout the play. 

In the Trojan camp, Helen (Martin) and Paris (Ben Yoganathan) romance each other, reminding us how the whole mess of the Trojan War started. As in the classical myth, Helen begins an affair with Paris and eventually leaves her husband, Agamemnon, spurring him to launch a siege against all of Troy to get her back.

The confusion portrayed by Tice and Armour’s wit, is especially memorable and forms the emotional highlights of the performance. Kolundzic’s commanding voice and presence as Agamemnon gave credibility to his authority as king, often accompanied by Mackett’s brilliant adaptation of Nestor’s wisdom.

Reis gave the audience some great laughs as Ajax, and the cynical wit of Thersites is hilariously captured by Nish-Lapidus. Martin and Yoganathan deliver an almost too-steamy performance as infatuated lovers Helen and Paris. The audience can’t help but find themselves rooting for Steele’s Troilus, despite what Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine of the FSL describe as an “adolescent self-absorption” in his lack of empathy for Cressida’s difficulties.

The fight scenes choreographed by Działoszynski are engaging and entertaining on multiple fronts — literally. With the audience seated on multiple levels, performers are able to run across and between the levels, and through audiences — a unique and original twist on the classic theatre-going experience.  

My only gripes with the production were the lack of intimacy between Achilles and Patroclus, and the confusion created by the similarity in the costumes of both fighting parties. With the continuous movement of the actors on, off, and even around the stage, it became difficult at times to differentiate between the Greek and Trojan parties. 

However, the talents and efforts of the team at Shakespeare BASH’d bring vivacity and coherence to an otherwise somewhat disjointed play. 

It is ultimately not the eloquence of the script that made this performance memorable, but the unique and distinctive portrayals by the main cast, especially those playing multiple roles, that allowed me to enjoy the story’s progression — even when I wasn’t sure if the warrior storming past me was Achilles or Ajax.

Upcoming Shakespeare BASH’d productions listed on their website include a staged reading of Galatea by John Lyly at the Monarch Theatre on March 29.