Three dogs - Emmanuel, Odin, and John-John - awake to find themselves in a strange and dark holding pen. There, they will be invited by a dog in charge (Casius) to compete with one another for "the collar," a coveted job in the elite K-7 unit of the state anti-terrorism service. But what are they willing to do, how far are they willing to go, to get the job?
That is the scenario in Perpetual Peace, the award-winning play by Juan Mayorga, one of the Spain's most celebrated and provocative contemporary playwrights. Fairfield University's Department of Modern Languages, in collaboration with the University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, will present the North American premiere of Perpetual Peace in a new translation by Fairfield University's Dr. Jerelyn Johnson, assistant professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, at 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, October 5 through October 8, 2011. Performances take place inside The Wien Experimental Theatre at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, in Fairfield, CT. Tickets are $20; free for students with ID.
The play explores the question of whether or not the state's use of physical coercion and torture is justified in circumstances where the knowledge gained by its use could prevent a terrorist incident - an issue that has been intensely debated worldwide following the events of Sept. 11, 2011, particularly in the United States, which permitted "waterboarding" in the interrogation of detainees.
