Helping Refugees Help Themselves: The Play Really is the Thing!

Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king,” highlighting drama’s power. That same force drives The Trojan Women Project, created by Charlotte Eagar and William Stirling. The project uses Euripides’ ancient play to help refugees from the Middle East and Ukraine cope with trauma, combining classical text with lived experience for both therapy and insight. Charlotte and William have worked on this project for over a decade. The Tällberg Foundation first met them in 2014 when they brought Syrian refugee cast members to a workshop. The performance of The Trojan Women was powerful, raw, and deeply personal. In this episode, the filmmakers discuss how theater can heal and transform both refugees and audiences.