Before being cast in this starkly visceral production, Powell had worked with Theater of War, a troupe that presents readings of Ajax and Philoctetes to military audiences as a trigger for discussion. In ditching the chorus of Ajax's countrymen for a projected local community whose non-lyrical commentary ranges from chewing the fat over fate and free will to conciliatory psychobabble, Benson takes her Ajax too far in that direction. The irony is that it's quite unnecessary: even up to its neck in masks and cothurni, the play would issue its siren song of pertinence loud and clear.
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