Reaching Athens: Community, Democracy and Other Mythologies in Adaptations of Greek Tragedy: 1 (New Comparative Criticism) - Softcover

Laera, Margherita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3034308078 ISBN 13: 9783034308076

Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2013

Synopsis

Why do revivals and adaptations of Greek tragedy still abound in European national theatres, fringe stages and international festivals in the twenty-first century? Taking as its starting point the concepts of myth developed by Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes and the notion of the ‘classical’ outlined by Salvatore Settis, this book analyses discourses around community, democracy, origin and Western identity in stage adaptations of Greek tragedy on contemporary European stages. The author addresses the ways in which the theatre produces and perpetuates the myth of ‘classical’ Greece as the origin of Europe and how this narrative raises issues concerning the possibility of a transnational European community. Each chapter explores a pivotal problem in modern appropriations of Greek tragedy, including the performance of the chorus, the concept of the ‘obscene’ and the audience as the demos of democracy. Modern versions of Women of Troy, Hippolytus and Persians performed in Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Greece are analysed through a series of comparative case studies. By engaging with the work of prominent theatre-makers such as Mark Ravenhill, Michel Vinaver, Katie Mitchell, Sarah Kane, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Romeo Castellucci, Calixto Bieito and Rimini Protokoll, this volume offers a critique of contemporary democratic Europe and the way it represents itself onstage.

About this title

About the Author

Margherita Laera is a Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at the University of Kent.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3034308078
• ISBN 13: 9783034308076
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 333