“Let’s get away from the epicness. These are real characters, real women – and let’s show that.” Emma Blacklay-Piech is in full-on director mode, pacing around the ADC bar mid-rehearsal. It’s two weeks before opening night, and today they’re focusing on a scene where Andromache (Kate Marston) tells Hecuba (Bethan Davidson) of the death of her child. It’s a poignant scene in an unmercifully heart-rending play. It’s somewhat jarring to watch the rehearsal – one moment the actors are laughing and messing around, and the next they’re in tears, enveloped in their roles. Trojan Barbie is based upon Euripides’s Trojan Women, and Emma explains the link between the two plays as we sit down to talk: “What Christine Evans has done is she’s taken these characters, and she’s put them in the modern world. You start off with a character called Lottie who’s from Reading, who is very much a modern character. She comes to Turkey on holiday and then gets caught up in this conflict at a refugee camp.”

It seems particularly apt timing for a play on refugees, something that Emma acknowledges. “One of my favourite scenes is the first scene, where Lottie meets Andronice. The modern world meets the ancient world, and just seeing those two worlds collide and have a conversation is so striking. I think that’s where you really see the relevance of this text and see that nothing’s changed. When you set these epic characters in a modern context in a modern camp, especially given what’s going on in Syria and in Europe with all of these camps being set up, then it’s so powerful to see how it’s the same story. These women existed for all this time. Women who are losing their sons to war, who are losing children to rebel forces.”

Producer Eleanor Mitchell chimes in: “One of our first chats about this was how women-specific the play is. These women are mothers and they’re wives and they’re friends, and it’s looking at those relationships and what happens to them in those situations.” So, could we describe the Trojan Barbie as a political play? To my surprise, Emma vehemently shakes her head. “This play isn’t about changing people’s opinions on refugees, it’s not got a political stance. It’s just giving these people a voice. It’s allowing people to see what the media doesn’t show. I really like the use of the Barbie doll in the play, because it made me think about the way that the media reports crises. It talks about facts and figures but not real people. It blurs the face of the victims. So that’s what we’re using the doll to symbolise.

“I’d like people to leave with a different perspective on how they’re viewing the current situation in Syria – because everyone knows about it, and these characters show the lives of real people. And not just the refugees, this plays gives the voice to soldiers as well. That’s another reason why I chose this re-working of the play, because it shows male characters who are just as disillusioned as the women are. I want the audience to leave with some empathy.” Which characters in particular have appealed to Eleanor and Emma personally? Eleanor and Emma pull faces as they stop to consider. “I really love the character of Cassandra,” Eleanor finally says. “Everyone in this camp is trying to hold onto their sanity, but from the off Cassandra is completely different – she’s just bouncing and skipping around the stage.”

“Yes,” Emma agrees. “In the traditional version of the text Cassandra has the gift of foresight, but she is cursed because no one believes her – they just think she’s mad. But in our version what Christine Evans has done is very clever. She [Cassandra] has post-traumatic amnesia, and she’s stuck in this childlike state from before all of this trauma happened to her. The way that she speaks doesn’t make any sense on paper – but gradually the audience realise that she is actually talking about something else.” Eleanor nods. “I have a lot of empathy for her and feel very sorry for her. She has this monologue that’s incredibly affecting, and I’m really excited to see that on stage.” Emma enthuses about her favourite character, Helen of Troy “She’s so different to the other women in the camp, and she has so many layers. With other characters, like Hecuba, you see them for who they are. With Helen you never really know who she is. She has a different role for the men, a different role for the women. You’ll see that in the play; she’ll be playing one character when she talks to one person, and then she’ll completely change when she talks to someone else. She puts on these different faces.” The play has its (brief) lighter moments through the doom and gloom. “There’s one bit in particular with Helen when her husband comes back,” Eleanor says, and when she catches Emma’s eye they both laugh. “I don’t want to give too much away. You start out laughing because it’s ridiculous, and then suddenly you’re shocked. You really see all of Helen’s cunning artfulness coming out fully.”

Emma agrees: “There’s a real shift in that scene. It starts out quite light. Will Bishop is playing Melanaus, and he’s immensely Hugh Grant-esque in that scene, so it’s funny. And then one of the most traumatic moments of the play happens, which is completely unexpected.” Eleanor also talks animatedly about the charities that the play is hoping to support. “We found some charities which specifically support women who have had to flee or had to return to war-torn countries, and go through the process of putting their lives back together. Women for Women International do some really good work going into communities. Rather than just providing money, they provide very specific training programmes for women to help them build networks in their community and rebuild what’s been torn apart – they give training to help them set up new businesses or enter new industries.”

“They also give really important help like better healthcare resources, just so that these people can survive in a country that is really unstable. Their website is really good, I’d really encourage people to have a look. You can find detailed reports on what they’re doing in various countries; they have a support-a-sister scheme where you can send money to a specific community.” As we wrap up the interview, I ask whether there’s anything else that they’d like to add. “We’ve done some really cool things with the lighting and the set and everything. I’m really excited to see it all happen,” Eleanor says. Emma nods. “Come see it if you have any interest in Syria, or any interest in women’s position in society, or just if you want to see some really bad-ass acting. The cast are phenomenal. We’re ready to run.”

Trojan Barbie is at the ADC Theatre at 7:45pm from Tuesday 26th - Saturday 30th January. You can find out more about Women for Women International at www.womenforwomen.org.uk.