Theatre of War Project

The Theatre of War Project is an offering of social impact theater company Theater of War Productions that presents readings of Sophocles' Ajax and Philoctetes for military and civilian communities.[1]

History

The story of Philoctetes, dealing with the wounded man and the interwoven relationships with others, has been frequently noted. In 2005, Bryan Doerries, writer and director, began a series of readings of the play in the New York City area. He had noted the reactions of the audience to the reading, especially the reactions of audience members to the interaction of the suffering soldier and the conflicted caregiver. The project revolves around presenting such readings, especially to audiences of medical professionals and students.[2]

A number of readings were followed by a panel discussion about doctor-patient relationships, involving presenters in psychiatry, physicians, and military medical personnel.[3][4]

The concept has also been extended to training of medical students, such as a presentation in 2007 to the first year medical class at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, involving not only the students, but also faculty members. The presentation included a discussion of an actual case dealing with the patient-caregiver interactions that parallel the situation Sophocles presented.

In 2008, at a conference dedicated to finding new ways to help US Marines recover from post-traumatic stress and other disorders after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, four New York actors presented a dramatic reading from Philoctetes and Ajax. The plays focused on physical and psychological wounds inflicted on the warrior.[5][6]

They have also presented plays such as: Prometheus Bound and The Women of Trachis.[6]

Theatre of War have performed in the UK presented by the military charity Glen art with actors Lesley Sharp and Jason Isaacs at Edinburgh Castle and The Southbank Centre in London in 2015.[7][8][9]

In March 2018, Glen Art presented Theatre of War’s first performance in Scotland for a serving military audience.[10][11]

In July 2020 the Scottish charity Bravehound joined with The Theatre of War Project presenting an online performance with Jason Isaacs, Nyasha Hatendi, Lesley Sharp and David Elliot. [12][13][14]

Bibliography
  • Doerries, Bryan (2016). The Theater of War: What Ancient Tragedies Can Teach Us Today. New York: Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-307-94972-1. Retrieved 2017-12-12.[15][16]

References
  1. "Project".
  2. Wright, Robin (12 September 2016). "Theatre of War: Sophocles' Message for American Veterans". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  3. "Theater of War: Soldiers and Citizens Tour - National Council". www.thenationalcouncil.org. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  4. Doerries, Bryan (Spring 2008). "About the Philoctetes Project, The Key Reporter (Phi Beta Kappa)". Archived from the original on 2006-11-29.
  5. latimes.com Story by Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
  6. Shapiro, James (2015-10-02). "'The Theater of War,' by Bryan Doerries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  7. "A US theatre project that helps war veterans". Scotsman. 5 December 2015.
  8. "Theatre of war explores masculinity and the impact of war" (PDF). Press Release Southbank Centre. 5 November 2015.
  9. Farmer, Ben (13 May 2017). "Army turns to Greek tragedy to help troops open up about PTSD". Telegraph.
  10. "Eddie Mair-BBC Radio4 PM Show - Theatre of War". BBC Radio4. 28 March 2018.
  11. Stewart, Stephen (26 March 2018). "New War on Stress Is All Greek to Us" (PDF). Daily Record. p. 28.
  12. "Jason Isaacs in online performance of Greek tragedies to help charity". Belfast Telegraph. 15 July 2020.
  13. "Lesley Sharp talks about her Edinburgh roots". The Scotsman. 26 May 2021.
  14. "We've never needed Gene Roddenberry's vision more than we need it now – Isaacs". The Irish News. 11 September 2021.
  15. Zuger, Abigail (28 September 2015). "Review: 'The Theater of War': Applying Greek Tragedies to Our Own". New York Times. Vol. 163. p. D3. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  16. Romeo, Nick (8 October 2015). "Book review: 'The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today' by Bryan Doerries - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
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