Actors, experts, and community members are turning to a classic play to address contemporary

trauma and tensions from the pandemic.

Jeffrey Brown has this look as part of our new series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy.

It's part of our ongoing arts and culture coverage, canvas.

Yesterday, you said that the water supply was contaminated by impurities in the soil.

Yes exactly. The source is undoubtedly the toxic swamp up in Milldale.

A major health crisis has been discovered. The water in a local spa is

contaminated. Lives in the economy are threatened. The public must be told, or

should it. We must bury it for the good of the people. Who decides and who

decides what actions if any to take at stake public health and democracy itself? This play is about a public health and democracy itself.

This play is about a public health catastrophe

that was in the late 19th century in 1882.

I mean, it's made up, but it could be today.

And it creates the context where we can talk about not just what just happened

over the last four years but how do we ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Let's do the first couple pages.

Brian Doris is founder and artistic director of Theater of War productions, which turns to ancient and classic plays

to explore and spur discussion of contemporary issues and trauma.

He has the thousand yards stare.

We watched in 2010 as a used Greek tragedy

that still speaks to the rise in suicide rates

in today's military, presented at a base.

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