An Enemy of The People

This special event featured a “chorus” of climate activists, scientists, journalists, elected officials, and concerned citizens performing the role of the crowd in Ibsen’s 1882 play, and performances by Bill Murray, Kathryn Erbe, Taylor Schilling, Zach Grenier, Peter Francis James, Jay O. Sanders, Jumaane Williams (NYC Public Advocate), Peter Marks (former Chief Theater Critic, The Washington Post), and Nate Smith (Extinction Rebellion). Directed, adapted, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries.

Peter Francis James, Bill Murray, and Jay O. Sanders.

This special event featured a “chorus” of climate activists, scientists, journalists, elected officials, and concerned citizens performing the role of the crowd in Ibsen’s 1882 play, and performances by Bill Murray, Kathryn Erbe, Taylor Schilling, Zach Grenier, Peter Francis James, Jay O. Sanders, Jumaane Williams (NYC Public Advocate), Peter Marks (former Chief Theater Critic, The Washington Post), and Nate Smith (Extinction Rebellion). Directed, adapted, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries.

A “chorus” of climate activists, scientists, journalists, elected officials, and concerned citizens performing the role of the crowd in Ibsen’s 1882 play.

We were amazed by the hundreds of people who joined us in person and the 1500 on zoom who all attuned their attention to Ibsen's play it's resonance with the climate crisis in one of the liveliest places on earth!

You can read about Nate Smith's collaboration with Theater of War Productions in The New York Times: New York Today "From Protester to Joining Bill Murray in ‘Enemy of the People’"

Extinction Rebellion unfurled an enormous banner that read "Learn to Swim" after An Enemy of The People: Extinction Rebellion finished on the Red Steps in Times Square. You can listen to an interview with Bryan Doerries and Marjolaine Goldsmith on XRNOW! We were honored to be featured on Extinction Rebellion Radio!

“In Greek tragedy, everyone believes they’re right and pursues it,” he said. “These are stories about people who learn too late, usually by milliseconds, and in that time destroy themselves and generations to come. But here, everyone, except for Stockmann, who isn’t socially aware of how he’s perceived, seems to know they’re wrong and are pursuing it anyway with full consciousness.” Read the full piece in the LA Times by Charles McNulty.

David Strathairn plays Doctor Stockmann at An Enemy of The People: A Public Health Project at The National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C.

A packed house at The National Academy of Sciences! The audience eagerly participated in the scenes with the chorus of public health leaders, scientists, journalists, EMTs, and Nurses.

Brían F. O'Byrne plays Aslaksen in Ibsen's An Enemy of The People.

Brían F. O'Byrne plays Aslaksen in Ibsen's An Enemy of The People.

The Audience took cues from the chorus of public health leaders, scientists, journalists, EMTs, and Nurses and participated in act IV of Ibsen's An Enemy of The People.

We were glad to bring the audience at The National Academy of Sciences in dialogue with a global audience on Zoom tuning in from 19 countries: United States, Peru, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Spain, New Zealand, Guatemala, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Argentina, Hong Kong SAR, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Israel.

Peter Marks (The Washington Post's chief theater critic from 2002 to 2023) enthusiastically participated in the chorus of An Enemy of The People.

Cynda Rushton PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics in the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the School of Nursing, participated as a Chorus member in An Enemy of The People.

Victor Dzau, President of the United States National Academy of Medicine of the United States National Academy of Sciences, participated in the chorus of An Enemy of The People.

Gloria Addo-Ayensu, MD, MPH, Director of Health for Fairfax County, in chorus rehearsal for An Enemy of The People.

Michael Patrick Sullivan, Paramedic, FDNY EMS, South Bronx plays Chorus Member 1.

Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH, Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director; Robert Henry Levi and Ryda Hecht Levi Professor of Bioethics and Public Policy, played the drunk in An Enemy of The People.

Kathryn Erbe, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Jay O. Sanders, Peter Francis James

Anthony Almojera (Lieutenant Paramedic, FDNY EMS, Vice President of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union, Local 3621), Natalie Bobila ( Francis Collins (former director of the NIH), and Grelia Steele (Global Continuity and Crisis Manager, Guidehouse), served on the panel.

Marjolaine Goldsmith, Kathryn Erbe, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Jay O. Sanders, Peter Francis James, Brian F. O'Byrne

The cast of the premiere of An Enemy of The People: A Public Health Project featured performances by David Strathairn (Nomadland), Frankie Faison (The Wire), Kathryn Erbe (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Peter Francis James (Oz), Jay O. Sanders (True Detective), Brían F. O'Byrne (The Wonder), Francis Collins (Former Director, National Institutes of Health), Monica Feit (Executive Director, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine), Jeffrey Kahn (Director, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics), Keshia Pollack Porter (Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), Victor Dzau (President, National Academy of Medicine), Vivian Pinn (Senior Scientist Emerita at the NIH Fogarty International Center), Ruth Faden (Berman Institute Founder; Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics), Grelia Steele (Global Continuity and Crisis Manager, Guidehouse), Peter Marks(former chief theater critic, The Washington Post), Gloria Addo-Ayensu (Director of Health, Fairfax County Health Department), Graham Sack (Filmmaker, Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab Fellow), Nancy Kass (Deputy Director for Public Health, Berman Institute of Bioethics), Joshua M. Sharfstein (Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), Marjolaine Goldsmith (Company Manager, Theater of War Productions), Cynda Rushton (Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics, John Hopkins School of Nursing), Anthony Almojera (Lieutenant Paramedic, FDNY EMS, Vice President of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union, Local 3621), Michael Patrick Sullivan (Paramedic, FDNY EMS, South Bronx) and Emily Packard Dawson (Program Officer, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine).

This event will be captioned in English on Zoom.