Brooks To Perform In Memory of 9/11

A production of Sophocles' Oedipus cycle starring Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko) will be performed under the Acropolis on Thursday in memory of the September 11 terrorist attacks of two years ago.

The Associated Press reported that the Washington, D.C.-based Shakespeare Theatre was invited to perform the Greek tragedies in Athens, homeland of the ancient playwright.

"I think we have achieved a very clear and powerful story, and I don't really doubt that we'll be able to communicate that," said Brooks.

The Oedipus myth, translated into English and adapted from three plays into a single story, is set not in a recognizable Thebes but an imagined Africa in the Shakespeare Theatre's production under the direction of Michael Kahn.

"There's something for me about the use of music, the use of storytelling, the connection in Africa to the gods, to spirits, to the earth, to ritual that were very present for me, that I wanted to draw on," Kahn said.

"We're honored to be asked to be performing a national treasure play," he added.

The idea to export the production was hatched when the Greek ambassador to Washington attended a performance just after the Sept. 11 attacks.

More information about the play may be found at The Hellenic Festival web site. The original news item is here and syndicated in other papers.

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