Open to Public
The Long-Term Care Trilogy: Oedipus at Colonus
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.
Thu, Oct 27.2022
Virtual Event
A series of free, interconnected, hybrid events, The Long-Term Care Trilogy will bring together actors, activists, authors, public figures, and caregivers to perform readings of plays by Sophocles and Shakespeare as a catalyst for engaging diverse audiences—both in-person and on Zoom—in crucial conversations about the challenges of caring for those our society has marginalized and left behind, especially elders. The Long-Term Care Trilogy will be broadcast live out of Tranzac, a community-oriented performance space in Toronto, in front of a small in-person audience. Using Zoom to join audiences—both physical and digital—in global dialogue, the project will also engage participants on their personal devices and gathering at “ground sites” linked to long-term care homes throughout Ontario.
Featuring performances by Margaret Atwood, David Strathairn, Adrienne Clarkson, Vanessa Sears, Jani Lauzon, Deena Aziz, Evan Buliung, R.H. Thomson, and a Chorus of Caregivers: Dee Hope, Michael Booth, and Carol Lemen.
Presented by Theater of War Productions, the Toronto International Festival of Authors, Family Councils Of Ontario, and Writers Collective of Canada with support from Canada Council for the Arts and TD Bank Ready Commitment.
Support for Theater of War Productions' digital programming is provided, in part, by the Mellon Foundation.
Translated, directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries. Produced by Marjolaine Goldsmith.
The Long-Term Care Trilogy will include:
October 26, 2022, 7:00pm - 9:30pm EDT
Theater of War: Philoctetes presents readings of Sophocles’ Philoctetes—an ancient Greek play about a warrior who abandoned by his friends on a desolate island on account of a chronic illness—as a catalyst for facilitated discussions about the challenges of witnessing suffering and healing wounds, both visible and invisible.
October 27, 2022, 7:00pm - 9:30pm EDT
The Oedipus at Colonus Project presents readings of scenes from Sophocles’ final play, Oedipus at Colonus, as a catalyst for powerful, community-driven conversations about the challenges of eldercare during and after the pandemic.
October 28, 2022, 7:00pm - 9:30pm EDT
The King Lear Project presents streamlined readings of scenes from Shakespeare’s King Lear to engage diverse audiences—including older adults, caregivers, and family members—in open, healing, constructive discussions about the challenges of aging, dementia, and caring for friends and loved ones.
Each presentation will consist of three components:
- The Performance: A dramatic reading of scenes from plays by Sophocles or Shakespeare, performed by professional actors and community members. (45-70 minutes).
- The Panel: Comments from a panel of community members—caregivers, health care workers, family members, advocates, activists, patients, etc.—relating the ancient plays to their personal and professional experiences (15 minutes).
- Audience Discussion: A facilitated discussion about each play, its core themes, and how they relate to the challenges of caregiving and long-term care (60 minutes).
About the play
-
Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles
After years of wandering in exile, without shelter or protection, the blind, elderly beggar Oedipus stumbles upon the sacred grove of the Furies on the outskirts of Athens in an area called Colonus, with his daughter Antigone by his side. Upon discovering where they are, Oedipus reveals that an oracle has foretold he will finally find refuge and rest in Colonus, and Oedipus’ body—after he is dead—will protect the city that houses it for all time. No longer the polluted and banished man, whose very presence brings bad fortune to anyone who comes in contact with him, over the course of the play, Oedipus transforms into a holy suppliant, sacred to the gods, bestowing gifts upon those who show him compassion and mercy. Oedipus at Colonus interrogates the impulse to exile, warehouse, and dehumanize people seeking shelter, asylum, and protection, and explores why showing reverence and respect for the less fortunate always makes communities stronger.
Cast Members
-
Margaret Atwood
Stranger
-
David Strathairn
Theseus
-
Vanessa Sears
Antigone
-
Daren A. Herbert
-
Evan Buliung
Creon
-
Deena Aziz
Ismene
-
Dee Hope
Chorus of Caregivers
-
Michael Booth
Chorus of Caregivers
-
Carol Lemen
Chorus of Caregivers
The Long-Term Care Trilogy Partners
Explore Projects
-
Racialized Police ViolenceAntigone in FergusonAntigone in Ferguson is a groundbreaking project that fuses dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of Sophocles’ Antigone with live choral music performed by a diverse choir, including activists, youth, teachers, police officers, and concerned citizens from St. Louis, Missouri and New York City, culminating in powerful, healing discussions about racialized violence, police brutality, systemic oppression, gender-based violence, health inequality, and social justice. Antigone in Ferguson was conceived in the wake of Michael Brown’s death in 2014, through a collaboration between Theater of War Productions and community members from Ferguson, MO, and premiered at Normandy High School, Michael Brown’s alma mater, in September of 2016.
-
Refugees & ImmigrationThe Suppliants ProjectThe Suppliants Project tells the timeless story of fifty female refugees seeking asylum at a border from forced marriage and domestic violence. The play not only depicts the struggle of these women to cross into safety, but also the internal struggle within the city that ultimately receives them. Using a 2,500-year-old tragedy by Aeschylus as a catalyst for powerful gatherings and crucial conversations, The Suppliants Project engages diverse audiences in humanizing, constructive dialogue about the challenges and impact of war, migration, and seeking asylum.
-
Natural DisasterThe Tohoku ProjectThe Tohoku Project: Sumidagawa presents powerful dramatic readings by professional actors of Sumidagawa, a Noh play from the early 15th Century that timelessly depicts the unique challenges faced by parents in the wake of unimaginable disaster. Each reading is followed by the responses of community panelists, culminating in a lively, facilitated audience discussion. This interactive event promotes healthy, constructive dialogue about the lasting impact of the Tohoku disaster upon individuals, families, and communities—fostering compassion, understanding, awareness, and positive action.