Menander and the Making of Comedy

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This introduction to the comedy of Menander is the work of two classical scholars, both of whom have worked extensively as theatre practitioners. It considers the plays of Menander primarily as performance pieces and uncovers the dramatic technique of this widely admired comic writer, whose plays had all but disappeared until the 1950s. Looking at the theatrical context of Menandrian comedy in its widest sense, the book includes discussions of recent productions, the recovery of the texts, the treatment of women and slaves, the nature of Menander's comedy, and where it may have led within the European tradition. This book should be of interest to both students of theatre and classicists.

Author Bio

J. MICHAEL WALTON is head of the Drama Department and Personal Professor at the University of Hull, United Kingdom. In addition to editing numerous works, he is author of Greek Theatre Practice (Greenwood, 1980), The Greek Sense of Theatre: Tragedy Reviewed, and Living Greek Theatre: A Handbook of Classical Performance and Modern Production (Greenwood, 1987). His translations have been performed in Britain and the United States, and include Menander's The Woman from Samos, produced at the Getty Museum in Malibu in 1994. PETER D. ARNOTT was Professor of Dramatic Arts at Tufts University at the time of his death in 1990. In addition to lecturing, he regularly toured with a one-man marionette theatre performing plays from the classical repertoire. Among his publications are An Introduction to the Greek World, An Introduction to the Greek Theatre, Greek Scenic Conventions in the Fifth Century B.C, The Ancient Greek and Roman Theater, The Theatre in Its Time and Public and Performance in the Greek Theatre. He also published translations from Greek, Latin, and French, many of which he directed in public productions.