Theater of war By Susan Jarratt, professor of comparative literature and interim chair of the Department of Classics
Greek tragedy offers contemporary audiences valuable insights on the experience of war. In Sophocles’ “Ajax,” the most powerful soldier in the Greek fighting force is suffering for several reasons: his heroic efforts as a soldier have not been sufficiently recognized, the leaders of the war effort haven’t “played fair” in coordinating battle plans, and he is grieving from the loss of a beloved comrade. All these wrongs come together and weigh on his mind and spirit. The outcome is Ajax’s decision to commit suicide. It is very easy to see links between the experience of an ancient warrior and today’s soldiers. For this reason, I am excited to work with the Department of Classics and several other campus units to welcome Theater of War to UCI. Bringing the performance of “Ajax” to bear on the current stresses experienced by war veterans, Theater of War highlights the connections between ancient and contemporary war. Created by Bryan Doerries, an alumnus of UCI with an MFA in directing from the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Theater of War began in 2008-9 with a multi-million-dollar grant from the Pentagon. Since then, Doerries has directed hundreds of performances in the US and abroad, at medical schools across the country, for professional organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, and on many college campuses. The format of this presentation brings veterans, currently serving soldiers, and spouses of soldiers and veterans, along with mental health professionals, on stage to react to the ancient Greek text. The dialogue that ensues among actors, director, veterans, soldiers, and audience will produce a new understanding of war and its effects coming out of the thoughts and experiences of local people. My hope is that the audience (1) is reminded that the US is still at war and has been for over a decade, and (2) that we can gain through ancient literature a fresh understanding of the consequences of war. I hope that faculty across campus will see Classics and Comparative Literature as interdisciplinary resources for thinking about how to teach in the current era when war is a continuing reality.