The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Classics and Religious Studies is teaming up with Lincoln’s Angels Theatre Company and Peru State College to bring the story of Hecuba, the widowed queen of Troy, to campus.

The groups will present a staged reading of Marina Carr’s “Hecuba,” directed by Laura Lippman, assistant professor of theatre at Peru State College, on December 5, at 7 p.m. in Nebraska Union Ballroom, 1400 R St., and is free and open to the public. The reading will feature actors and alumni from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film as well as students and faculty from the Department of Classics and Religious Studies and Peru State College. Refreshments will be served and a talkback session will follow the performance.

The play is a modern adaptation of Euripides’ tragedy of the fifth century, B.C. It follows Hecuba, now a widow, as she copes with the gruesome end to her kingdom. Alone and enslaved, she and her defenseless daughters must survive in a world under the rule of their captors. From queen of the Trojans to slave of the Greeks, Hecuba speaks to the experience of everyone suffering under wartime violence. This version of the myth gives all the characters, and the women, in particular, the platform to tell their own story.

“This is a challenging piece,” Lippman said. “Carr’s style lends itself well to the staged reading format, which focuses on the text and characters rather than on sets, costumes or a full staging of the play’s actions. The audience engages their imagination and sees the action unfold in their mind’s eye.”

For more information about the reading, please contact Matthew Loar at mloar2@unl.edu or Mike Lippman at mlippman2@unl.edu.