How to Stage Greek Tragedy Today

by Simon Goldhill

From the stages of Broadway and London to university campuses, Paris, and the bourgeoning theaters of Africa, Greek tragedy remains constantly in production. This global revival, in addition to delighting audiences, has highlighted both the promise and the pitfalls of staging ancient masterpieces in the modern age. Addressing the issues and challenges these performances pose, renowned classicist Simon Goldhill responds here to the growing demand for a comprehensive guide to staging Greek tragedy today.

In crisp and spirited prose, Goldhill explains how Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles conceived their works in performance and then summarizes everything we know about how their tragedies were actually staged. The heart of his book tackles the six major problems facing any company performing these works the staging space and concept of the play; the use of the chorus; the actor’s role in an unfamiliar style of performance; the place of politics in tragedy; the question of translation; and the treatment of gods, monsters, and other strange characters of the ancient world. Outlining exactly what makes each of these issues such a pressing difficulty for modern companies, Goldhill provides insightful solutions drawn from his nimble analyses of some of the best recent productions in the United States, Britain, and Continental Europe.

One of the few experts on both Greek tragedy and contemporary performance, Goldhill uses his unique background and prodigious literary skill to illuminate brilliantly what makes tragedy at once so exciting and so tricky to get right. The result will inspire and enlighten all directors and performers—not to mention the growing audiences—of ancient Greek theater.

Genres: Academic, Classics, Tragedy

254 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Simon David Goldhil is Professor in Greek literature and culture and fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at King's College, Cambridge. He was previously Director of Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge, succeeding Mary Jacobus in October 2011. He is best known for his work on Greek tragedy.
In 2009, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2010, he was appointed as the John Harvard Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences at Cambridge, a research position held concurrently with his chair in Greek.
In 2016, he became a fellow of the British Academy. He is a member of the Council of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Board of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes, and is President of the European Institutes for Advanced Study (NetIAS).
Goldhill is a well-known lecturer and broadcaster and has appeared on television and radio in England, Australia, the United States and Canada. His books have been translated into ten languages, and he has been profiled by newspapers in Brazil, Australia and the Netherlands.

Reviews

[Masho Shanshashvili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!!! A must-read

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a more accurate title for this book would be something like "Issues to Consider When Deciding How to Stage Greek Tragedy Today," though that's not as pithy. Goldhill is a Classicist, and he approaches the problem of staging Greek tragedy as a Classicist. That's not necessarily a critique, but it is important to know--and Goldhill does state that directly in the intro. What this means, ultimately, is that Goldhill raises a lot of questions and draws attention to a lot of the peculiarities of staging Greek tragedy, without actually providing much in the way of solutions. The closest he comes to providing solutions is by discussing specific performances that have either successfully or (more often) unsuccessfully navigated the issues.

For instance, the chapter on the Chorus establishes why Choral performance was such a central part of Attic tragedy and makes the case that compromising the Chorus' role does a fundamental disservice to the movement and commentary of tragedy. Then Goldhill goes through several productions/scripts that have dealt with the Chorus in particular ways--reducing it to a few or a single performer, substituting in a Gospel choir, modernized groups of random people--and showing the pitfalls or failures of each. While he brings up good points that should be considered for modern performances looking to produce working shows (especially if they aim at any sort of fidelity to the Greek original), Goldhill doesn't really offer practical advice for solving problems, just an acknowledgment of what the problems are.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

We don’t know exactly how Greek tragedies were performed, but we know several things: the performers wore masks, they used music extensively with some form of singing, there was some kind of dancing or rhythmic movement, the choruses were approximately 15 people, the chorus leader did much of the speaking for the chorus, and the scripts used highly stylized, non-colloquial language. (Among other things.)

Goldhill takes these basic pieces and … basically ignores them. This book would be better called “How to Stage Greek-Adjacent Tragedy Today.” He seems more interested adaptations and modernizations of the Greek plays. It is kind of like discussing how to perform a Shakespeare play by examining West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, or Kurosawa’s Ran. The question is: When is a Greek Tragedy no longer a Greek Tragedy.

Goldhill discusses masks in passing. Music gets a couple pages. Dance is barely referenced. After praising “neatened up” scripts that are “clear, ungrand and unpoetic,” Goldhill does finally admit that Greek tragedy, especially that of Aeschylus, was untidy, unclear, grand and poetic.

Perhaps a better titled would be “How to Adapt a Greek Tragedy for the Modern Audience.” Which is fine. There’s a place for that. I would just balk at calling it authentic Greek Tragedy in any way.

[Jim Syler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and worthwhile exploration of the title's subject matter. Goldhill delves into issues of sex, politics, gods, staging, costumes, translation and more, largely avoiding being controversial while discussing controversy intensively. He boldly gives his opinions on various stagings of Greek plays, while refusing to dogmatize on the right and wrong ways to do things. Required reading for any prospective directors or translators of Greek plays.

[Emily Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goldhill wittily dissects the significance of performance with the reception of Greek tragedy

[cecil · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't agree with all his opinions, but it was really interesting and stayed engaging.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty damn good though Goldhill's analysis of 5th century BCE cultural and institutional norms strikes me as far too ideologically neutral (he's obviously not too fond of critical theory when it comes to the socio-cultural complexities which circulate around these texts, but the contemporary productions he discusses in great length and with much enthusiasm and passion are adventurous and, dare I say it, conceptually postmodern).

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well crafted, in depth look at modern productions of Greek tragedy, while considering the conventions of the Ancient Greek theatre and how the play was created according to those conventions. Valuable for anyone who is thinking of diving into Greek Tragic performance for the first time.

[Harper Lahde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chapters 1-4

[Emily Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goldhill wittily dissects the significance of performance with the reception of Greek tragedy