Man is helpless in the hands of destiny. In a world on the brink of annihilation, the individual stands a mere spectator, witnessing the senseless action that gradually engulfs him as well. Tomari Matir Kanya is based on Euripides' (416 BC) tragedy, The Trojan Women. Set in the period after the defeat of Troy by the Greeks, the play focuses on the effect of war on the innocent Trojan women. The Greeks, led by King Agamemnon, have won the war by unfair means, killing King Priam, his gallant son Hector and thousands of Trojan soldiers, leaving behind an indelible trail of blood and wailing Trojan women, including the widowed Queen Hecabe, the innocent Polyxena and the seer priestess Cassandra. They all await stoically for the Greeks to decide on their fates and subjugate them as concubines, servants and paramours. But the victorious Greeks, swelling with pride, commit various outrages. Retribution descends on them as their collective hubris enrages the gods, Poseidon and Athene. But do the Trojan women deserve such a terrible fate? They had led their lives peacefully, away from the glare of war and all its evils, following the moral tenets of society, managing their homes and hearths. Yet they are the ones who become the actual victims of war. In a strife-torn world, this play highlights the helplessness of human beings — men and women alike — in the face of destiny. This Theatron production is translated by Salil Bandyopadhyay and directed by Saswati Biswas

When: Today at 7 pm

Where: Academy of Fine Arts