In Sicily during the Peloponnesian War, Syracusans imprison defeated Athenians in a quarry. Lampo and Gelon, two idle potters who love poetry and drink, decide to feed the Athenians if they recite lines from Euripides. They then plan to stage a production of Medea. As opening night nears, their playful project spirals into a series of risky and extraordinary events, showing that staging a play can be as perilous as war, threatening their lives, limbs, and friendship.