In Search of Greek Theatre
By Lucy Jackson and Erin Lee (National Theatre)
This series looks at the way the National Theatre has adapted Ancient Greek plays, translated to a modern audience, especially placing it in more contemporary settings that the audience may be more familiar with. This includes inspiration for the costuming, set design and the actors. In particular, it looks at how the adaptations aim to be set in a familiar time frame (1930s Berlin) yet remain vague enough to allow the story to still exist outside this history. They argue that this “undefined” time period is something which more closely resembles how plays would have been for a Greek audience, especially translating how “mythic history” would have been a blurred “undefined” time. This series also highlights a line of work (namely costume and set design) where women are more present.
Videos produced by the National Theatre, February 24, 2022.