THE OUTHOUSE OF ATREUS

By: Gillian Clark (Playwriting, 2020)

Director: Danik McAfee (Directing, 2024)

A community named New Troy rests on the Bay of Styx, which has the highest tides in the world.   
It’s 2009 and tonight is the 10th anniversary of the death of Artemis: beloved mother, sister and friend. 
Away from the kids, the adult’s gather in the school’s gymnasium to drink in honour of Artemis. 
Or at least that’s why they say they gather. 
The deceased is no longer the star of this show anymore. 
Agamemnon is planning on proposing to Penthesilea. 
Clytemnestra is back. 
Penelope is 18 and finally allowed on the adult’s side. 
When do our realities start to feel pretend? 
Welcome to New Troy.  Unpack your bags. Stay awhile. 

A note on the play: 
The Outhouse of Atreus is one half of the play Trojan Kids and the Outhouse of Atreus.  Think of The Outhouse of Atreus as half of a circle, and Trojan Kids as the other half. We encourage you to see both to complete the full experience. You can see the shows in either order.   
Here is a link to get your tickets for Trojan Kids! 

Remember when you stood at the intersection of childhood and adulthood, your younger self brimming with dreams and aspirations?  

We embark on new journeys, leaving behind the safety of our nests with youthful confidence and a sense of invincibility, ready to confront the "real world”. But adulthood is not without its challenges. Life presents us with decisions to be made, bills to be paid, hearts to be broken and much more. The simplicity of childhood fades away, replaced by the complexities of reality. In our attempts to navigate this complexity, we sometimes find solace in wearing masks of bravery and concealing our truths from the world. But burying our truths only delays the inevitable reckoning.  

The Outhouse of Atreus has prompted me to reflect deeply on the nature of adulthood – what it truly means and the responsibilities it entails. 

Tonight we welcome you to the 2009 Duck'n'Swing! Let's party together on this journey through the cracks of reality and into the depths of the human experience. 

Danik McAfee

It is a rare gift as a playwright to reimagine a play not one, not two, but three times.  

The origins of this piece started in 2017 at Two Planks and a Passion Theatre.  Artistic director, Ken Schwartz asked if I wanted to adapt The Trojan Women to be played outside, around a fire. At the time of the commission, I was fortunate to be a student at NTS, where Nick Carpenter and Kalale Dalton-Lutale were instrumental in the early stages of development. The play premiered as The Ruins in 2019 and was about a group of kids in late summer. 

Mitchell Cushman asked if I had any curiosity developing the piece to explore what the adults were doing on this night alongside the kids.  Thus began the creation of Trojan Girls and the Outhouse of Atreus, which was coproduced by Factory Theatre and Outside the March in association with Neworld Theatre in 2022.  This process forged cherished relationships, including the piece’s current dramaturg, Ho Ka Kei.  

The final leg of this process for what is now called Trojan Kids and the Outhouse of Atreus began when Andrea Romaldi asked if I was interested in creating for the 2024 New Words Festival.  My original intention was to make a few small changes to the drafts I had already written… that did not happen.  The artists at the school inspired me to completely reinvent these sibling plays. Their courage, dedication and joy were infectious. I admire them for their bravery, generosity and most importantly, truth telling. My gratitude to all faculty, administrators, staff, coaches, and of course, the students for their collaboration on this piece.  

You, dear audience member, are part of this creation journey too. Thank you for being here. Whether you are around the fire in Trojan Kids or at the Duck n Swing in The Outhouse of Atreus…Welcome to New Troy. 

Gillian Clark