Our Trojan War, is a play about American soldiers who come across various ancient texts while searching a home in the Middle East. They come across texts like The Odyssey and The Iliad, which they reenact throughout the play. The play centered around the theme of Democracy; how is freedom preserved and protected. The play combines modern militaristic procedures with ancient Greek text that explored the theme of war.

Towards the end of the play the soldiers began questioning why do we go to war. What is the purpose of invading people’s homes? One of the actors was reminiscing when his team invaded a home and they set up on the roof. He recalled how the child wouldn’t approach him with the platter of food; the child was standing there like a soldier waiting for an order. The actor said that all he could think about was how the mother had to clean up the mess they made yet she managed to make them food. It was interesting to see how the soldiers would recall all the destruction they created but couldn’t really remember what was the real reason for creating it in the first place.

One part that really spoke to me was when Circe turned Odysseus’ men into swine. The story was first told through Odysseus’ eyes, but it was interesting to see it through Circe’s eyes herself. It was interesting to see a re-writing of an ancient text. This part reminded me of Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath along with The Thousand and One Nights; where a women’s perspective is offered. Another parallel between The Thousand and One Nights and the play is the power of storytelling. The play is centered not necessarily around the audience but around the experience of the actors themselves. The play allows the actors to recreate the bond they once had when they were at war. The text along with the play itself allows the actors to experience some aspect of war and the affect of coming back from war.