Blame it on Zeus’ Thunderbolt: The REAL Origin Story of the Trojan War
Thursday, November 21 | Jeff Wright with Blame it on Zeus’ Thunderbolt: The REAL Origin Story of the Trojan War (Arts Court Theatre)
Blame it on Zeus’ Thunderbolt: The REAL Origin Story of the Trojan War is a witty, fast-paced and occasionally irreverent tour through the mythological origins of the Trojan War. The troubles begin high atop Mount Olympus when Zeus, King of the Gods, once again falls victim to the insatiable demands of his own deific ‘thunderbolt.’ But what should have been a tawdry little Olympian soap-opera soon devolves into something larger and uglier when three humans - Achilles, Paris, and Helen of Troy - find their fates drawn in to the Olympian drama. And ultimately one of those humans will be required to do what Zeus, King of the Gods, feared to do himself: render a decision in the most famous and disastrous beauty contest in history. You might have heard grim war stories from Homer’s Iliad and cautionary tales of a famous Wooden Horse, but storyteller Jeff Wright promises a different sort of treat: tall tales of the improbable, absurd and sometimes laugh-out-loud ridiculous ORIGINS of that famous Trojan War.
Local Ottawa storyteller Jeff Wright is a uniquely 21st Century Homeric Bard. Following a decade of performing Greek epic live, Jeff launched Trojan War: The Podcast, a 24-hour telling of Homer’s epic tale in podcast form. Jeff’s vision was to render Bronze Age Epic accessible (and free) to audiences who might never have opportunity to read Homer’s original texts, to enrol in a university course, or to attend a live show. Jeff’s vision succeeded: 575,000 listeners in 168 nations have listened to Trojan War: The Podcast to date. In 2019 Jeff released Odyssey: The Podcast (another 24 hours of epic story). When not podcasting or performance storytelling, Jeff tours two corporate shows: “Leadership Lessons from a Bronze Age War” and “The Odyssey: A Parable of Failed Leadership.” Participants in Jeff’s corporate shows soon realize that the leadership and teamwork challenges confronted by Achilles, Odysseus and Helen of Troy – way back in the Bronze Age – are really no different than the challenges faced (and the blunders made) by leaders and teams in our own 21st century. For more details on Jeff’s live performances and podcasts, go to jeffwrightstoryteller.com.