Eight actors play 31 speaking characters and 11 non-speaking ones.
Characters
A list of characters per actor follows this list.
PENELOPE Queen of Ithaca, wife to Odysseus, age 40 to 45
ODYSSEUS King of Ithaca, gone for 20 years, MIA for ten, age 45 to 50
BEGGAR Odysseus in disguise
TELEMACHUS Son of Penelope and Odysseus, age 20
EURYCLEIA Onetime wet nurse to Odysseus; now aged maid loyal to Penelope
EUMAEUS Swineherd loyal to Odysseus’s family, male, age 40s
PHILOETIUS Cowherd loyal to Odysseus’s family, male, age 40s
MENTOR Friend of Odysseus, guardian of his family, male, age 60 but not infirm
BARD Male or female, tells parts of story, steps into five speaking characters
ANTINOUS Strongest suitor to Penelope, murderous, charge-ahead style, late 20s
EURYMACHUS Second strongest suitor, murderous, duplicitous, age near 30
AMPHINOMUS Prominent, most mild-mannered suitor, age late 20s
AGELAUS “Voice-of-reason” suitor, age early 30s
MELANTHO Maid to Penelope; spy for, and mistress to, Eurymachus, age 18
CTESIPPUS Lesser suitor, a “pile-on” cheap-shot bully, age late 20s
LEOCRITUS Lesser suitor, also a “pile-on” cheap-shot bully, age late 20s
LEIODES Self-righteous suitor, diviner for the suitors, age 30s
MENELAUS King of Lacedaemon (aka Sparta), age 45 to 50
HELEN Queen, wife to Menelaus (after her return from Troy), age around 45
ETEONEUS Aide to Menelaus, male mid 40s
PEISISTRATUS Prince, son of King Nestor, friend of Telemachus, age mid 20s
ALCINOUS King of Phaeacia, age around 55
ARETE Queen of Phaeacia, wife to Alcinous, age around 45
NAUSICAA Princess, daughter of Alcinous and Arete, age 18
ECHENEUS Elder in court of Alcinous, male age 55+
LAODAMAS Prince, son of Alcinous and Arete, mid 20s
EURYALUS Friend of Laodamas, male, mid-20s
ACHILLES Greek hero at Troy, age 30
CALYPSO Goddess, eternal youth and beauty
IRUS Ithacan beggar, male, age 20s to 30s, non-speaking
PRIEST Marries bride Penelope and bridegroom Odysseus
PHEMIUS Singer/storyteller to royal family, male, age 30 or higher
Other non-speaking roles: bride Penelope, bridegroom Odysseus, three maids, five suitors
Actors in Order of First Appearance, Characters per Actor in Order of First Appearance
ACTOR CHARACTER
Bard BARD Storyteller, then
SUITOR Unnamed
MAID To Queen Helen, unnamed, any age
EURYCLEIA Aged maid to Penelope
AGELAUS Suitor to Queen Penelope, age early 30s
CTESIPPUS Lesser suitor, pile-on cheap-shot bully, late 20s
LEOCRITUS Lesser suitor, pile-on cheap-shot bully, late 20s
LEIODES Lesser suitor, self-righteous diviner for the suitors, 30s
(Late in Act II Scene 3, Bard must shift quickly from Eurycleia to Bard. In Act III Scene 2, Bard must tell us (in character) what several different characters are saying, and shift back and forth between Bard and Agelaus, and Leiodes.)
Female 45 PENELOPE Queen of Ithaca, Wife to Odysseus, age 40 to 45
SUITOR To Penelope, unnamed
HELEN Queen, wife to King Menelaus, age around 45
ARETE Wife to King Alcinous, Queen of Phaeacia , 45
MENTOR Guardian of Odysseus’s family, aged but not infirm
(In Act I Scene 1, Female45 appears as Penelope, then as an unnamed suitor, and then as Penelope in fairly quick succession. Penelope, Helen, and Arete are in entirely separate scenes. In Act III Scenes 2-3, Female45 appears early in Scene 2 as Penelope, then mid to late in Scene 2 as Mentor, then from the start and throughout Scene 3 as Penelope.)
Male 50 PRIEST Male, age 50
SUITOR To Penelope, unnamed male
MENELAUS King of Lacedaemon, age 45 - 50
ODYSSEUS King of Ithaca, 45 - 50, gone for 20 years, MIA for 10
(No roles overlap or collide, but quick changes from dirty/bloody to all-clean occur in Act I Scene 5 and Act III Scene 3.)
Male 20 ODYSSEUS As bridegroom, age 23 to 28
SUITOR To Penelope, unnamed male
TELEMACHUS Son of Penelope and Odysseus, age 20
LAODAMAS Son of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, mid 20s
(A quick change is needed between bridegroom Odysseus and unnamed suitor to Penelope in Act I Scene 1.)
Female 18 PENELOPE As bride, age 18 to 23
SUITOR To Penelope, unnamed male
MELANTHO Maid to Penelope, mistress of Eurymachus, 18
MAID To Helen , unnamed, age 20s to 40
NAUSEA Daughter of Alcinous and Arete, age 18
CALYPSO Goddess, age eternal youth
EUMAEUS Swineherd loyal to Penelope and Odysseus, male, 40s
MAID To Penelope, unnamed, young adult
(Some quick changes are needed early between bride Penelope, unnamed suitor, and Melantho in Act I Scene 1. Leisurely change between maid and Eumaeus in Act III Scene 2.)
Male 6 ANTINOUS Strongest suitor to Penelope, male, age late 20s
EURYALUS Phaeacian friend of Laodamas, male, mid 20s
ACHILLES Greek hero at Troy, age late 20s to early 30s
(No roles overlap or collide.)
Male 7 EURYMACHUS Second lead suitor to Penelope, male, around 30
ETEONEUS Aide to King Menelaus, male, mid 40s
ECHENEUS Respected elder in the court of Alcinous, male
IRUS Ithacan beggar, male, 20s
PHILOETIUS Cowherd loyal to Odysseus, male, age 40s
(Quick changes between Eurymachus and Irus in Act II Scene 3 , then Eurymachus and Philoetius in Act III Scenes 1, 2.)
Male 8 AMPHINOMUS Gentle suitor to Penelope, male, late 20s
PEISISTRATUS Son of King Nestor, friend to Telemachus, age late 20s
ALCINOUS King of Phaeacia, age around 55
PHEMIUS Singer / storyteller, male, adult age
(Leisurely change between Amphinomus and Phemius in Act III Scene 2.)
This compact form was chosen to accommodate city constraints on production, while not compromising essential action. It can be unpacked to provide roles for many actors in school, college, or regional productions.
As has been demonstrated in many plays, different roles played by the same actor can be distinguished by changes in light, position, posture, costume, voice, mannerism, etc. Some (nonrestrictive) thoughts:
I imagine Penelope with the physical control and grace of a cat under stress, while she radiates the light and warmth of the sun in loving her son and husband.
I envision a ponderous, menacing—but rather straight-forward and direct—Antinous; mixtures of physical grace and oily smooth speech in—crooked—Eurymachus. Agelaus is matter-of-fact, while Amphinomus is soft, even gentle. Bard can in theory be male or female.
Preferably, the men should be bearded; Menelaus, red-headed.