The act of going to the theatre is a sacred one offering escapism, entertainment and catharsis. Every now and again, however, a play has the ability to unlock hidden stories existing within our communities. These are the types of stories that challenge our perceptions of what it means to be human under extreme circumstances, what it means to love, fight, grieve and deal with trauma. Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of witnessing part of the development of one of these special plays, Tempus Fugit: Troy & Us, by NMT Automatics Theatre Company. As a company NMT Automatics are known for their visual and physical style of storytelling that explores classical texts with the intention of making them relevant for current audiences. In this instance, they have combined their unique style in response to the provocation visualising war and as a result, they have created a poignant and timely work that will speak to people both directly affected by war and those who have no tangible connection with it. More specifically, Tempus Fugit: Troy & Us, is a visceral representation of the mental and physical sacrifice and violence endured by individuals and their families once they have given their lives over to duty.
The main storyline of this play follows a modern-day military couple living and loving under the shadow of war paralleled and intertwined with the ancient Greek story of Andromache and Hector from Homer’s Iliad. After witnessing the latest R&D performance of the work in August at The Union Theatre, I have been compelled to find out more about what has been behind this creation. I recently sat down with co-creators and performers of the work Genevive Dunne and Jonathan D’Young (AKA Noah Young) and director Andres Velasquez to get further insight.
To begin with, I asked the company if they found this story or if it found them and like most things that are meant to be it very much seems like it found them. Initially developed in partnership with the British Museum for their Troy exhibition in 2020, after a series of somewhat serendipitous meetings the project has also become a collaboration with the Centre for the Public Understanding of Greek & Roman Drama and König & Nicolas Wiater’s Visualising War project, all based at St Andrews University. Specific literature has also been a big influence on the work and includes Jonathan Shay’s Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America, as well as Vietnam Wives by Aphrodite Matsakis and Jon Hesk’s publication on Sophocles’ Ajax. In conjunction with the extensive academic research undertaken by the company, they have also interviewed several current and ex-serving military members of the public and their family’s while Dramaturg Máirín O'Hagan has been an invaluable member of the company helping to contextualise the material.
