Aftermath

Staged reading of the play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, with talkback moderated by Professor Bob Meagher

Thursday, June 23, 7:30 p.m.
Northampton Center for the Arts
17 New South Street, Northampton

The theater company's Press Release (PDF, 3.3MB) is worth a look.

March 20, 2003: A date that the ordinary people of Iraq will never forget. A day that changed their lives forever. In June 2008, the award-winning creators of THE EXONERATED were commissioned by New York Theatre Workshop to travel to Jordan to find out firsthand what happened to the Iraqi civilians as a result of the events that began on that fateful day. They interviewed some 35 people-a cross-section of lives interrupted- who fled the chaos and violence that befell Iraqi society for the relative safety of Jordan. Following the visit to Amman, Jessica and Erik crafted their conversations with the Iraqis and turned them into Aftermath, an unforgettable theatrical event.

Bob Meagher, Professor of Humanities, Hampshire College, has taught religious studies and theology at Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. He has also held visiting chairs and professorships at numerous colleges and universities, including Trinity College Dublin and Yale University. His publications include over a dozen books, as well as translations and original plays. His most recent book is Herakles Gone Mad: Rethinking Heroism in an Age of Endless War. He has offered workshops on the translation and contemporary production of ancient drama at colleges and universities here and abroad, and has himself directed productions at such venues as the Samuel Beckett Centre, Dublin and the Nandan Centre for the Performing Arts in Kolkota, India. In recent years he has directed and participated in a range of events and programs concerned with healing the spiritual wounds of war in veterans, their families, and their communities.

Professor Meagher was recently appointed as a commissioner for the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, a national coalition of religious, academic, advocacy and veterans groups whose stated goal is "…to honor and protect freedom of conscience for our nation's service members."