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Summer Rep Opening Reception & Sophocles’ AJAX
Thu, June 27, 2019 @ 6:30 pm
About the Reception
CENTER’s 2019 Summer Rep is supported in part by an opening reception held on Thursday, June 27 before and after the opening performance of AJAX, featuring complimentary pre-show champagne and post-show refreshments in celebration of all five shows in the Summer Rep and the 50-plus actors and creative staff bringing them to life.
About the Summer Rep
CENTER’s 2019 Summer Rep is an ambitious mini-season of five plays based on the plays of Ancient Greece, presented in contemporary versions that are funny, surprising, and unexpected. Two ticketed “Main Stage” productions indoors support and make possible three FREE outdoors productions in Maritime Heritage Park:
- BRISEIS by Glenn Hergenhahn-Zhao (Maritime Heritage Park)
- Sophocles’ AJAX (Center for the Arts)
- Aristophanes’ THE BIRDS (Maritime Heritage Park)
- a new telling of Homer’s ODYSSEY (Center for the Arts), and
- AN ILIAD by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare (Maritime Heritage Park).
About AJAX
At the end of the Trojan War, the great warrior Ajax has been driven wild at the hands of his enemies, and as a result, begins to self-destruct. The more seasoned warrior Odysseus is awarded a prize Ajax feels is his own by right, and in a haze of jealousy and rage (and a little goddess-induced delusion), Ajax commits a desperate and terrible act of vengeance.
Ajax tells the story of a man who makes a dangerous choice, and then asks us whether the honor we give to the dead is blind. This play has us process the consequences of war in a very real way, a way that makes us forget that the original script was written in 2,500 years ago. Translator Doerries set out to show the “unvarnished truth” about which Sophocles wrote, depicting the devastating impact of Ajax’s actions upon his wife, son, brother, troops, and chain of command, and implicitly asking the question “how do we reintegrate our soldiers—and ourselves—into a healthier society?”
iDiOM’s production of Ajax includes a male chorus and live musical accompaniment by Bill Anker, Bellingham drummer extraordinaire (known for his time in local bands including Black Beast Revival and The Whiskey Wailers).
AJAX, written by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, has been performed for centuries, each iteration of the play a reflection of the times in which it runs.
Theatre of War’s Bryan Doerries wrote this new translation in 2015 as a contemporary take on war and the consequences of the choices we make. This iDiOM production will be the first of two indoor shows running this summer at Center for the Arts, with proceeds supporting three FREE outdoor shows in Maritime Heritage Park.
DETAILS
Reception Date/Time: Thursday, June 27, 6:30pm (show at 7:30pm)
Venue: Lucas Hicks Theater
Admission: $25 General, $20 CENTER Members, FREE for iDiOM 2019/20 Season Passholders (not included in 2018/19 Pass)
Running time: 80 minutes
