Is
it better to fight against an oppressive regime, or to collaborate
with it in order to gain a position from which one can do
a little good? This is the dilemma explored in Arnold Hinchliffe’s
last play. Polygamus, a cultivated Ionian Greek, sides with
the Persians against his own countrymen but, once in office,
is able to mitigate the invaders’ harshness. Hermes,
however, the uncompromising leader of the resistance movement
is ready to kill and die for a cause which Polygamus considers
hopeless. And between them is a young woman, mistress of
both…
A thought-provoking play which is extremely relevant to
world-wide problems today.
Is
it better to fight against an oppressive regime, or to collaborate
with it in order to gain a position from which one can do
a little good? This is the dilemma explored in Arnold Hinchliffe’s
last play. Polygamus, a cultivated Ionian Greek, sides with
the Persians against his own countrymen but, once in office,
is able to mitigate the invaders’ harshness. Hermes,
however, the uncompromising leader of the resistance movement
is ready to kill and die for a cause which Polygamus considers
hopeless. And between them is a young woman, mistress of
both…