[Theater] Euripides' 'Helen' by the Thíasos Cultural Association | Teatro Paulo Quintela

Dear friends,

Allow me to address you not merely as a character, but as a woman whose story has so often been told by others.
I am Helen—not the one taken by Paris (that tale is false)—but the one the gods hid on the shores of Egypt, far from the wars and the hatred that my name has stirred.

On July 8th, at 6:15 PM, at the Paulo Quintela Theatre, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, in this tragicomedy that my life has become, I will have my final opportunity to share with you my version of events, in the final performance of Helen by Euripides, presented by the cultural association Thíasos.

Who doesn’t know Helen of Troy?
The Greek queen whose beauty supposedly launched a thousand Greek ships toward Troy.
But what if we told you Helen was never there?

In this tragicomedy by Euripides, the gods deceive mortals by creating a phantom Helen, abducted to Troy, while the real Helen is sent to Egypt under the protection of its king.
However, when the king dies, his son, Theoclymenus, decides to claim the most beautiful woman in the world for himself.
Seventeen years after the Trojan War begins, Menelaus—believing he has rescued Helen—shipwrecks in Egypt.

In this story, Helen tells the truth to defend her name, while the gods laugh at the fate of mortals. Her cleverness will be her only weapon to escape the pharaoh and this divine charade.

Let yourselves be moved by the power of ancient theatre, which—even today—forces us to rethink what we believe we know about honor, glory, and truth.

With appreciation and the hope to see you in the audience,
Helen