Sophocles’ classic tale, Ajax, is given new life in this staging by Esmond Road Productions with an all-female cast and modern translation by James Kerr.
The play tells the story of a celebrated warrior, cursed by Athena for her pride in battle. After a night of violent hallucinations, she is awoken to find her friends, lover, and child cowering from her in fear and shame. Exhibiting symptoms that we now understand to be the very real psychological consequences of trauma, Ajax must try to push through the mist of her own delusions and make a choice; one with repercussions far-reaching enough to shake the army, the king, and the gods atop Olympus.
A story of honour, death, trauma, and the dehumanizing nature of politics and war, this 2500-year-old tale rings as true today as ever. Directed by New York actress Maria Makenna and featuring music composed and directed by Montreal’s own Erica Martin, Ajax is sure to provide a fresh and exciting experience for a modern audience.
Esmond Road Productions was started by Maria Makenna and Erica Martin, graduates of LAMDA’s MA program. They are interested in creating more space for women in the performing arts, both on and offstage, in front of and behind the camera. With a focus on classical theatre, they are looking to shift the way we see gender in a classical setting, as well as shed light on the very modern social themes and mental health issues already existing in classical pieces.
They aim to use design, translation, and original music to breathe fresh life into the plays and texts we think we already know.
Ajax is at The Space 5 – 10 December 2017.
