Open to Public / Digital Initiative
Book of Job Project at Exodus
Free Event
Please RSVP through the link provided. The event Zoom link will be distributed via email, and available to registered attendees starting 2 days prior to the event.
Wed, Jul 01.2020
Virtual Event
About the play
-
The Book of Job by Translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Book of Job is an ancient Hebrew poem that timelessly explores how humans behave when bad things happen to good people. At the beginning of the poem, Job, a righteous and prosperous man, is tested by God. In the span of one day, he loses everything—his children, his crops, his livestock, his house, and his health. Convinced of his own innocence, Job sits silently in the dirt behind what's left of his home and asks God for an explanation. But God doesn't answer. Job is visited by a group of friends who, at first, sympathize with his suffering, but when Job begins to question why he has been singled out and made to suffer, they condemn his behavior and accuse him of having done something to deserve his terrible fate. In spite of these accusations, Job clings to the belief that he has done nothing wrong and continues to shake his fists at the sky in righteous indignation. At the very end of the poem, God reveals himself to Job as a disembodied voice within a whirlwind and rebukes him for presuming to understand His will. Job covers his mouth and falls silent, and—in an enigmatic ending—God restores his health and prosperity, doubling his children, his livestock, and his crops.
Cast Members
-
Jeffrey Wright
Job
-
Kimberly Hèbert
Job's Wife
-
Frankie Faison
God
-
David Strathairn
Bildad, Messenger 1
-
Jumaane Williams
Zophar, Messenger 2
-
David Zayas
Eliphaz, Messenger 3
Explore Projects
-
Gun ViolenceHercules
Drawing from an ancient Greek tragedy about a vicious act of violence committed by an angry man with an invincible weapon, this project aims to generate powerful dialogue between concerned citizens, members of the law enforcement community, victims and perpetrators of gun violence, and the general public.
-
IncarcerationPrometheus in Prison
Prometheus in Prison is an innovative public health project that presents readings of Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, an ancient Greek play about god who is imprisoned for stealing fire and giving it to humans, as a catalyst for powerful discussions about the challenges faced by individuals, families, and communities whose lives have been touched by the criminal justice system. For the past decade years, this groundbreaking project has been used to open up healing dialogue in a variety of settings, including prisons, detention centers, and public venues throughout the country and the world.
-
Pandemic & Climate CrisisThe Oedipus Project
The Oedipus Project presents acclaimed actors reading scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, constructive, global conversations about the climate crisis, ecological disaster, environmental justice, and healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world. Sophocles’ ancient play, first performed in 429 BC, just after the first wave of a plague that killed nearly one-third of the Athenian population, is a story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, intergenerational curses, and a pestilence and ecological collapse that ravages the archaic city of Thebes. Seen through this lens, Oedipus the King appears to have been a powerful tool for helping Athenians communalize trauma and loss, while interrogating their own complicit role in the suffering, not just of those around them but of generations to come.