BY ANDREW WATKINS

“Moments after Ajax” is a theatrical adaptation of Sophocles’ “Ajax,” blending the original text with contemporary sources (social media, chatrooms, speeches) to investigate public grief.

The play stages the death of Ajax, the army's mightiest warrior who both betrays and is betrayed by his fellow soldiers. After his death, a bitter debate erupts over whether he deserves burial. In our version, this debate is staged through a chorus of found text with 70% of the final scene using recontextualized verbatim language drawn from contemporary events that sparked vitriolic controversy over historical narratives.

Inspired by global erosion of democratic structures, polarized politics, and violence, this project fuses classical and contemporary voices to create a performance at the boundary of classical theater, new American playwriting, and documentary theater. Brooklyn audiences will engage with urgent questions about how tragedy is often exploited for political gain.