Mask And Performance In Greek Tragedy

A 2007 study of the mask in Greek tragedy, covering both ancient and modern performances.

Specially written for students and enthusiasts, David Wiles introduces ancient Greek theatre and cultural life.

Peter Arnott discusses Greek drama not as an antiquarian study but as a living art form. He removes the plays from the library and places them firmly in the theatre that gave them being. Invoking the practical realities of stagecraft, he illuminates the literary patterns of the plays, the performance disciplines, and the audience responses. Each component of the productions - audience, chorus, actors, costume, speech - is examined in the context of its own society and of theatre practice in general, with examples from other cultures. Professor Arnott places great emphasis on the practical staging of Greek plays, and how the buildings themselves imposed particular constraints on actors and writers alike. Above all, he sets out to make practical sense of the construction of Greek plays, and their organic relationship to their original setting.

An examination of the conventions and techniques of the Greek theatre of Menander and subsequent Roman theatre.

Drawing on insights from various disciplines (philology, archaeology, art) as well as from performance and reception studies, this volume shows how a heightened awareness of performance can enhance our appreciation of Greek and Roman theatre.

An explanation of Greek theater as seen through its many depictions in classical art

Marianne McDonald brings together her training as a scholar of classical Greek with her vast experience in theatre and drama to help students of the classics and of theatre learn about the living performance tradition of Greek tragedy. The Living Art of Greek Tragedy is indispensable for anyone interested in performing Greek drama, and McDonald's engaging descriptions offer the necessary background to all those who desire to know more about the ancient world. With a chapter on each of the three major Greek tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides), McDonald provides a balance of textual analysis, practical knowledge of the theatre, and an experienced look at the difficulties and accomplishments of theatrical performances. She shows how ancient Greek tragedy, long a part of the standard repertoire of theatre companies throughout the world, remains fresh and alive for contemporary audiences.

Along with democracy, tragedy is recognized as a genuine invention of the Athenians (fifth century BC). Indeed, what is now referred to often as the golden age of Ancient Greece is based on the development at the level of both the art and politics: tragic drama and the democratic form of government. The two cultural institutions then are rightly considered to be central elements of the Greek heritage . This collection seeks to complement and stimulate the broad interest in tragedy demonstrated in university curricula around the world. Both the ancient Greek plays and their successors such as Shakespeare in the Renaissance, or playwrights such as Brecht and Beckett in the twentieth century, have extended the range and complexity of the category of tragedy. What is being mapped in this collection of critical essays is the variety of ways in which teachers, students, and theatre practitioners now think, talk, produce and enact tragedies. Contributors to this anthology seek to achieve two broad aims. The first is to increase respect for the complexity of the texts themselves (albeit working mainly through the medium of translation) as well as a detailed understanding of their original context; the second is to adopt the position of contemporary readers who bring a range of contemporary theoretical approaches to bear in their search for meaning in these classical works. They include theatre theory and practice, feminism and gender sensitivity, new understandings of the very concepts of text and narrative and the impact on extra literary fields of knowledge such as psychoanalysis - all contribute to our reading of the genre of tragedy today. These in particular reflect some of the most exciting work on tragedy of the last fifty years. This collection is a collaborative Australian-Indian one. The location in different cultures of both the editors and contributors has enabled the range of essays represented in this Reader. What the collection foregrounds