Philoctetes

Philoctetes

Written by Sophocles
Performed in English
1988–1989

The god Hercules asked the shepherd Philoctetes to light his funeral pyre. Philoctetes did so and the god gave the shepherd his own magical bow as a reward.

Philoctetes later went on to fight for the Greeks in the Trojan War, but offended the gods and was punished by a festering wound in the foot so terrible that his fellow Greeks marooned him in the barren island of Lemnos.

The Greeks pinned their hopes on winning the war on Philoctetes’ friend Achilles, their most glittering hero. But Achilles was killed.

Helenus, a prophet, said that the only way to win the war was for Achilles’ son Neoptolemos to bring Philoctetes – and the magic bow – back to Troy.  As the play begins, Odysseus and Neoptolemos land on Lemnos to fulfil this task… 

Translated  by Kenneth McLeish. Produced by Cheek by Jowl. The first performance of Philoctetes was held on 27th September 1988 at the Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton, UK.

“If this production doesn’t win some of the prizes going in 1988/1989 AD, then Olympus is barren and the Gods unjust”
The Guardian

Cast and creative team

Cast

Name	Character
Charlie Roe	Odysseus
Paterson Joseph	Neoptolemos
Keith Bartlett	Philoctetes
Trevor Baxter	A Merchant
Duncan Duff	Heracles/Sailor
Peter Darling	Sailor
Michael Jenn	Sailor
Lloyd Owen	Sailor
Cecilia Noble	Sailor
Dale Rapley	Sailor
Timothy Walker	Sailor

Creative Team

Role	Name
Director	Declan Donnellan
Designer	Nick Ormerod
Musical Director	Paddy Cunneen
Lighting Designer	Stephen Rate
Voice Coach	Patsy Rodenburg

Previous performances

Previous Performances

Date (first performance)	Location	No. of performances
6 April 1989	Ankara, Devlet Tiyatrosu, Turkey	1
30 March 1989	Istanbul, Devlet Tiyatrosu, Turkey	1
26 March 1989	Bucharest, Teatrul Nacional, Romania	2
19 March 1989	Bratislava, National Theatre, Slovakia	1
15 March 1989	Prague, National Theatre, Czech Republic	1
10 March 1989	Oslo, Norske Teatret, Norway	1
24 February 1989	Stratford Upon Avon, The Swan, UK	2
9 February 1989	Perth, New Fortune Theatre, Australia	4
19 January 1989	Singapore, Victoria Theatre, Singapore	2
29 December 1988	London, Donmar Warehouse, UK	21
17 November 1988	Coventry, Arts Centre, UK	2
11 November 1988	Winchester, Theatre Royal, UK	2
4 November 1988	Basildon, Townsgate Theatre, UK	2
24 October 1988	Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Theatre, UK	2
17 October 1988	Brighton, Gardner Castle, UK	2
10 October 1988	Bury St Edmunds, Theatre Royal, UK	4
3 October 1988	Bracknell, Wilde Theatre, UK	2
27 September 1988	Taunton, Brewhouse Theatre, UK	3