ECC theater to stage 'Ajax'

There will be swordplay, but no sandals during Elgin Community College Theatre's production of “Ajax.”

The play, penned by the Greek playwright Sophocles will be held Nov. 5-21 in the ECC Arts Center on the main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

Performances will be held at 8 p.m. Fridays, Nov. 5-19; and Saturdays, Nov. 13-20. “Ajax” also will be performed at 3 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 14 and 21.

Directed by ECC Professor of Theatre Steven Gray, “Ajax” keeps Sophocles' original story intact, but modernizes the settings, dress and situations. Instead of the end of the Trojan War, the play begins in what Gray describes as “a harsh, destroyed world where everyone has been fighting for so long.”

After the death of the once-invincible Achilles, Ajax pleads to a council to award him with the slain warrior's powerful armor. When the council decides to give the armor to his rival Odysseus, Ajax is enraged and vows to kill those who disgraced him. Gray says Ajax at this point “loses all touch with reality” and develops symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

“Audiences should expect to see what war can do to soldiers and how they depend on each other to give meaning to their lives in the context of battle,” Gray says.

Tickets for “Ajax” are $11 for adults and $9 for students and seniors. Tickets are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office located in the arts center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.

For more information about the ECC Arts Center, visit www.elgin.edu/arts. Video clips of upcoming artists and events can be found at www.youtube.com/ECCArtsCenter. Connect and talk to the arts center on Standing Room Only, a blog at www.eccartscenter.com/. The arts center also can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ECCArtsCenter.