Theatre of War Project


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

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.
Noting the reactions of the audience to the reading, especially related to 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.
A number of readings were followed by a panel discussion about doctor-patient relationships, involving presenters in psychiatry, physicians, and military medical personnel.
The concept has also been extended to training of medical students, such as a presentation also 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 that 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.
They have also presented plays such as: “Prometheus Bound,”, and “The Women of Trachis”.
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.
In March 2018, Glen Art presented Theatre of War’s first performance in Scotland for a serving military audience.