“RAGE goddess,” begins this adaptation of Robert Fagles’ matchless translation of the epic Iliad. “Sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Acheans countless losses …”

And though actor David Wenham doesn’t sing in this theatrical adaption of Fagles’ text by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, everything else most certainly does. 

Wenham is The Poet, a timeless bardic figure forever doomed to recount the story of the Greek siege of Troy, the account of which comes down to us attributed to Homer. He would dearly like to stop – this stuff takes a toll – but until the world gets the message, he cannot. And the world, it seems, never has and never will.

An Iliad: David Wenham as The Poet. Photo © Daniel Boud

Wenham enters the Wharf 1 space (imagined as a dark warehouse-like space by designer Charles Davis) through a roller door. After setting up his own lights, he drags in a wagon piled high with suitcases, boxes and a double bass; everything he needs to tell the story – including double-bassist and singer Helen Svoboda, who will be his stage companion for the...