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The Play's the thing

By anonimouse (Wed Oct 21, 2015 at 06:07:24 AM EST) tragedy, When the feeling's gone and you can't go on, bee gees (all tags)

The Oresteia

The Oresteia
Were the ancient Greeks really entertained by this? Enquiring minds really want to know. Originally written around 458BC, it seems a little dated. The acting and speech seemed a little wooden, and the combination of modern and ancient dress in this production didn't come off well. I think if you're going to do this, you need to make free with the script and sit firmly on one side or the other of ancient/ modern dress and setting.

So I went to see this at The Globe, a massive 5 minute walk from where I work. Unfortunately it seems that City airport also took it into their heads to launch or land planes at inconvenient moments.

Remember people, if you're going to sit for 3+ hours in a building where some windows are missing, wear warm clothing and get a cushion to prevent bum numbness.

I could say that all I got was this lousy t-shirt, but I quite like it.

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The Play's the thing | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)

I'm impressed by TheophileEscargot (4.00 / 1) #1 Thu Oct 22, 2015 at 12:53:26 AM EST

I love the Globe, and I've seen a few ancient Greek plays, and I'd probably have thought that was a bit heavy for me...

Were they entertained by it? Probably. But Greek theatre was part of an annual religious ceremony, the festival of Dionysus, so it was a religious obligation, not something they chose to do for fun in the evenings.
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It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell: so is it likely that the good of a man should?

Globe and Playhouse by anonimouse (4.00 / 1) #2 Thu Oct 22, 2015 at 05:22:42 AM EST

CG is doing a drama/literature degree at a London university and watching this was required but I like theatre anyway. I'm currently on track to watch about 60% of the plays in her course. After the Oresteia she was begging me to take her out to a musical next

.

I like The Globe and the Playhouse, just not this performance. Apparently this play wasn't part of a religious festival but a competition winner. I think that there is a play that would be enjoyed by a modern audience if someone had put together a better production

Girls come and go but a mortgage is for 25 years -- JtL

[ Parent ]

: Modern audiences by TheophileEscargot (4.00 / 1) #3 Fri Oct 23, 2015 at 12:44:27 AM EST

I saw "The Lightning Child", a very loose adaptation of "The Bacchae" at the Globe a while ago, and that was fantasically entertaining. The audience loved it, were laughing and screaming. But that had a lot of changes, including a long speech about Internet porn that I'm pretty sure wasn't in the original. I think it's hard to do it faithfully and keep it entertaining, there are too many cultural changes.
The theatre part of the festival of Dionysus was a play competition, so I think the few plays that survived tended to be competition winners. The ancient Greeks were ultra competitive ("agonistic") and had competitions everywhere. The Olympic games were part of a religious festival, at a funeral they would have "funeral games" with athletic competitions.
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It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell: so is it likely that the good of a man should?
[ Parent ]

The Play's the thing | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)