Theorising Performance: Greek Drama, Cultural History and Critical Practice

(Paperback)

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This exciting collection constitutes the first analysis of the modern performance of ancient Greek drama from a theoretical perspective. The last three decades have seen a remarkable revival of the performance of ancient Greek drama; some ancient plays - "Sophocles", "Oedipus", "Euripides", and "Medea" - have established a distinguished place in the international performance repertoire, and attracted eminent directors including Peter Stein, Ariane Mnouchkine, Peter Sellars, and Katie Mitchell. Staging texts first written two and a half thousand years ago, for all-male, ritualised, outdoor performance in masks in front of a pagan audience, raises quite different intellectual questions from staging any other canonical drama, including Shakespeare. But the discussion of this development in modern performance has until now received scant theoretical analysis. This book provides the solution in the form of a lively interdisciplinary dialogue, inspired by a conference held at the Archive of Performances of Greek & Roman Drama (APGRD) in Oxford, between sixteen experts in Classics, Drama, Music, Cultural History and the world of professional theatre.The book will be of great interest to scholars and students of Classics and Drama alike.

Author Bio

Edith Hall is Research Professor in the departments of Classics and Drama at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is also co-founder and co-director of the APGRD. Stephe Harrop is an academic and theatre-maker, whose research centres upon the relationship between text and performance. She completed her practice-based PhD in 2007, and has since worked at Royal Holloway, Goldsmiths and Rose Bruford Colleges and the APGRD.