Major Margaret Atwood revival in York

An important UK revival of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad - the first since it premiered the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2007 - is a highlight of the autumn season (October 10-24) at York Theatre Royal.

Based on Atwood's critically-acclaimed novella of the same name, the feminist retelling of Homer’s Odyssey gives voice to the silenced Penelope and her chorus of maids.

Immortalised as the devoted and faithful wife of the glorious Odysseus, Penelope waits 20 years for her husband to return from the Trojan War, silently weaving, unpicking and re-weaving. So Atwood gives us the story of Penelope and the other women left behind... The Booker prize-winner and author of modern feminist classic The Handmaid’s Tale created the stage adaptation herself.

Interwoven with songs. York Theatre Royal's production will be directed by Juliet Forster (Little Women, Around The World In 80 Days-ish!).

Forster said: “Margaret Atwood is such a phenomenal writer. She’s clever, witty and subversive, and her insights into human dynamics are acutely well observed.

"The Penelopiad is a funny, moving, fast-paced visual feast; a classical tale told through a contemporary lens. The epic story of The Odyssey will never look the same again!"

More info and tickets here