09 Feb 2026
Deborah Heath is at the Abbey Theatre for Company of Teens’ version of the female-centric interpretation of the Green myth…
Margaret Atwood’s 2005 novella was first dramatised in 2007 for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It explores the Greek myth of Penelope, wife of Odysseus. who is left behind while her husband fights in the Trojan War and gets into all manner of general scrapes over a 20 year period waiting for him to come home.
Penelope, who has a new baby, is expected to remain faithful to a husband who might not even be alive, but manages to hold a trio of suitors at bay with some very clever trickery. On Odysseus’ eventual return, he demands that her faithful handmaids are murdered for acts of dishonestly and fornication despite there being very little proof of wrongdoing.
This Greek myth really is one to make us stop and think about the truth of storytelling – how every tale can be viewed from different perspectives. In fact, Odysseus’ own character is presented very differently in both Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘The Iliad’, and in this play Atwood encourages her audience to have an open mind when considering Penelope too.
Director Matt Hughes-Short explains: “Across history, women’s experiences have often been overshadowed by the stories of men…The Penelopiad beings those silenced voices to the centre of the stage, retelling the story from the perspective of those who lived with the consequences of heroic deeds.”
This production demonstrated an ambitious vision from the director. Every aspect of design was on point and carefully thought through. Cliff Stratford’s beautifully constructed set combined Ancient Greek splendour with practicality including multifunctional sections.
Furthermore, the director’s idea of having the audience seated on opposite sides with the static set pieces on the remaining two, highlighted Margaret Atwood’s overall message “History is shaped by viewpoints”.
Sound (Jack Wathen) and Lighting (Paul Davidson) were extremely well planned and executed throughout. For instance, the frenetic string music which added pace to the fight scenes and the occasional red lighting which enhanced the unsettling feeling of the action. I applaud the use of Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For’ at the end which encouraged the audience to reflect more on the role of women in Greek mythology: “We had no voice. We had no choice.”
Acting from this large cast of teenagers was of a very high standard and I’m sorry that I can’t mention them all. The director had chosen to split the role of Penelope between three girls which in lesser hands could have fallen flat. However, all three (Scarlett Campbell, Ilana Honeybourne and Ivy Sawyer) worked extremely hard and gave beautifully convincing performances. Their role swapping was elegantly choreographed with the passing of a purple cloak denoting who would portray the role next.
Given that the whole point of Margaret Atwood’s adaptation of this Greek myth is to view history from more than one angle to get the true story, I felt that this concept of splitting the role was highly appropriate. Well done to every member of the cast for their individual performances which showed confidence, talent and dedication.
One of the highlights of the play for me was the weaving of the shroud with large swathes of red and white fabric which was well managed by the eight handmaidens.
The choice to take the fight scenes in slow motion worked well as it gave us the opportunity to reflect on the injustice of the violence, particularly towards the handmaids. Only one thing could have worked better; the multi-functional stage blocks were rather noisy when they were moved by the cast especially when the wheel locks were clamped down. This could have either been done during a break in dialogue or the actors could have spoken louder over the top. However, this really is a minor quibble in what was an excellent piece of the theatre.
Company of Teens selected a superb, thought-provoking script and realised it with aplomb both in terms of acting and design. I was hugely impressed with Matt Hughes-Short’s overall vision and hope will be directing again. I also look forward very much to next year’s Company of Teens show. Well done to all team members on and backstage for providing the audience with a thought-provoking and beautiful piece of theatre.
