An ancient Greek drama whose message still resounds today has been chosen for the next BMDS production at Daylesford.

Euripides' `The Trojan Women', first produced in 415 BC, was set in the aftermath of the Trojan War but, says director Barbara Jones, remains a powerful indictment against war.

"Although it's a tragedy, there are moments of great humour,'' she explains.

"I'm doing the whole thing in modern dress and I think the overall message of the play is that when countries, for whatever reason, go to war, it is the `little' people who suffer.'' Ms Jones, an anaesthetist by profession, is well known as both an actress and director. For this play, she has chosen the translation by Neil Curry. "He has moved it into much more comprehensible language while retaining the poetry of the original Greek.

"Also, Peter Woodhouse is returning to do the lighting. I am thrilled that he's coming back for this as he knows my style -- minimalist, which is interesting to the eye, but not set in any specific place.'' This last aspect underlines the director's approach to the play which, she explains, may be viewed on several levels. In the story itself, it had been prophesied to Priam and Hecuba, the rulers of Troy, that their son Paris would cause the destruction of the city. His subsequent acceptance of the beautiful Helen, spirited away from Menelaus, the Spartan king, caused the aggrieved husband to raise an army that besieged Troy for the next ten years.

This was only broken by the ploy of the wooden horse: "When the play opens this has resulted in a massacre in which women were raped and people slaughtered in their beds. The men are all dead. Queen Hecuba and her women try to retain some dignity at the hands of the Greek soldiers but, one by one, each is led away. In the course of that, there are various word `pictures' of things that have happened, of things that will happen. Cassandra, for instance, sees her own death, and there are philosophical discussions as to whether survival at all costs is preferable to life with dishonour, and the agony of a war that even kills children.'' Another aspect is the Prologue between Poseidon and Athene. "To underline the contemporary theme, they are presented as the CEO's of multi-nationals who sell arms to the `little' people on one side, and, if that doesn't work out, they sell to the other side. In the end, it's only the profit that counts. You could compare this with Afghanistan where the same rebels are fighting, all financed in turn by the Americans, Russians, Iran and Pakistan. The losers were the people and the pillaging of their infrastructure. This kind of cynicism could also apply anywhere in the Balkans.'' Appearing in `The Trojan Women' are John Thomson, newcomer Carolyn Dewhurst who has worked professionally in the UK, Sheilagh Robertson, Nikki Durrant, Theresa Pantry (having completed her BA in theatre), Nicole Harrison, Jacquie Gibbons, Terea Beeson, Jeane Butterfield and Roger Trott.

`The Trojan Women' runs at Daylesford Theatre from September 28 through October 3 at 8 p.m. The box office is open from September 21-25 from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. and on performance nights, from 7 and 8 p.m.

Director Barbara Jones