About the project
Hercules
Dramatic Reading of Madness of Hercules, by Euripides
Translated and Directed by Bryan Doerries
Hercules is an innovative project that presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of scenes from Euripides’ Madness of Hercules—an ancient Greek tragedy about an unthinkable act of violence committed by an angry man with an invincible weapon—for audiences composed of concerned citizens, activists, students, and survivors and perpetrators of gun violence, in order to generate powerful dialogue between these communities, fostering compassion, understanding, awareness, and positive action.
When I was a perpetrator of violence, I had many different friends, but the one who stood out for me was the one who never turned his back on me, no matter what poor decision I made.
About the play
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Madness of Hercules by Euripides
When the Greek hero Hercules returns to Thebes and finds his home occupied by a local tyrant, he goes on a rampage with his invincible bow, killing the men who have invaded his house and taken his family hostage. But in the heat of the battle, Hercules enters into a berserk rage and kills everyone in sight, including his wife and two young children, with his powerful weapon, mistaking them for enemies. When he comes back to his senses and takes in the horror of what he has done, Hercules contemplates suicide, but his close friend and fellow war veteran Theseus, stays by his side and offers unconditional support, encouraging him to share the burden of what he has done with his community. At its core, Euripides’ Madness of Hercules asks profound questions about how we should respond to unthinkable violence—as citizens, family members, friends, and neighbors—and how we can all work together to stop violence from occurring in our communities, before it’s too late.
Hercules Highlights
In Brooklyn, Hercules’ Battles Inspire Talk on Gun Violence
The New York Times / 2016
Hercules Trailer
Damien Scott from the Red Hook Community Justice Center speaks at Hercules in Red Hook
Columbia Street, Red Hook Houses West / 2018
The crowd at the premiere of Hercules in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza / 2016
In Brooklyn, Hercules’ Battles Inspire Talk on Gun Violence
The New York Times / 2016
Audience member speaks at Hercules in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza / 2016
Dominic Dupont facilitates discusison at Hercules in Red Hook
Columbia Street, Red Hook Houses West / 2016
Ashanti, who originated the role of the Chorus, in Hercules in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza / 2016
Paul Giamatti joins NYC table read for dialogue on gun violence
Van Dyke Houses, Brownsville Brooklyn / 2017
NY1 reports on Hercules in Brownsville
Audience Member speaks at Hercules in Red Hook
Columbia Street, Red Hook Houses West / 2018
Jeffery Wright, who originated the role of Hercules, speaks at Hercules in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza / 2016
NYPD Inspector Rafael Mascol, Commander of the 73rd Precinct, who played Hercules and Paul Giamatti, who played Theseus
Van Dyke Houses, Brownsville, Brooklyn / 2017
Tiffany Murray of Save our Streets, Crown Heights, facilitates Hercules in Brownsville discussion
Van Dyke Houses, Brownsville, Brooklyn / 2017
Hercules in Manhattan
The Greene Space WNYC & WQXR / 2018
Actors perform anti-violence play, open dialogue about social climate
Louis H. Pink Houses / 2017
News 12 reports on Hercules in East New York at the Pink Houses. Watch the news segment.
Anti-violence summit talks racial, political divisions on Staten Island
SILive.com / 2018
SILIVE reports on Hercules in Staten Island. Read the article.
Paul Giamatti, Chinasa Ogbuagu, Jumaane Williams to Perform in Anti-Gun Violence Play
Van Dyke Houses, Brownsville Brooklyn / 2017
BK reader reports on Hercules in Brownsville. Read the article.
Theater Of War Drives Discussion About Violence
Arverne Queens / 2017
The Rockaway Wave reports on Hercules in Arverne. Read the article.
‘Hercules in the Bayview’ prompts tearful, earnest discussion
Hercules in the Bayview / 2017
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on Hercules in The Bayview. Read the article.
Explore Projects
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Domestic ViolenceDomestic Violence ProjectAddressing the impact of domestic violence on individuals, families, and communities, the Domestic Violence Project premiered in Maine in April 2013 and will be touring all five boroughs of New York City under the current PAIR residency.
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Racism & Social JusticeThe Drum Major InstinctCommissioned by BRIC, The Drum Major Instinct engages audiences in dialogue about racism, inequality, and social justice. The performance features a dramatization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final sermon, embodied by prominent actors and supported by a large gospel choir, composed of singers, activists, police officers, and musicians from St. Louis, MO, and Brooklyn, NY.
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Domestic ViolencePatient and Impatient GriseldaTheater of War Productions and Margaret Atwood return to the Toronto International Festival of Authors with an exciting new collaboration exploring power and control, domestic violence, and family dynamics by way of two versions of the same story, one written by Giovanni Boccaccio in 1348 during the bubonic plague and the other by Atwood in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Bocaccio’s version, a woman named Griselda remains in an abusive and controlling relationship, showing great patience and forbearance in the face of her husband’s sadism and cruelty. In Atwood’s version, Griselda takes matters in her own hands and, with the help of her sister, turns the tables on her husband.
This free, public event featured a live, dramatic reading of the “Patient Griselda” story from Boccaccio's Decameron by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Fleishman is in Trouble), Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid, Mouthpiece), and Araya Mengesha (Tiny Pretty Things, Nobody). Then, in response, Margaret Atwood performed “Impatient Grisleda,” a story that is narrated to a group of humans in quarantine by an alien that looks like an octopus. The readings of both texts was followed by immediate responses by community panelists and culminated in a guided audience discussion, facilitated by Bryan Doerries (Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions).
Co-presented by Theater of War Productions and Toronto International Festival of Authors.
This hybrid presentation took place in person at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre Theatre and on Zoom Webinar on September 30, 2023.