Ajax, the mythical Greek warrior, is the hero of the play’s main character, a U.S. veteran who is homeless, and living on the streets of Oakland.

The vet, suffering from dissociative identity disorder, often thinks he is the Greek warrior and relives the conflicts and traumas of Ajax. He also suffers from his own war experiences, and his PTSD anxiety is triggered by the news images of George Floyd’s death.

The veteran is upset with the rift between the beauty and intention of equality stated in the United States Constitution and the ugly reality of prejudice and inequality in twenty-first-century America.

Ajax, the veteran, leads us to a complex exploration of personal and cultural identity. It looks like we are a long way from achieving the idealistic goals of our constitution. Privilege and prejudice prevail - witness the plight of an American warrior living disenfranchised and homeless on the streets. The veteran, not the Goddess, carries the wisdom of the play:

“Change is a possibility, not a given. Change happens over time, and not until we the people ask for it. Until we all agree on what we want for ourselves, for our neighbors, for every stranger shivering on every corner, we will struggle to move forward.”

ABOUT INFERNO THEATRE

Inferno Theatre was founded on the premise that live theatre that leads to dynamic and positive change in the lives of all who participate in it, whether spectators or performers. The company believes that arts and education are essential parts of everyone’s daily life, that theatre can both transform reality and be an integral part of the cultural and sociological context of society. Inferno supports the centrality of the theatre art form rooted in work, research and collaborative practices that set the artists at the core of the organization; theatre that embraces the complexity and diversity of the human being; theatre that creates community (both physically present and imagined); and theatre that links humans together through a need for one another to complete a shared common interest or vision of the world.

Ajax: Our Heroes, Our America

A Full Workshop Production