The Greek Plays

by Ellen McLaughlin, Tony Kushner (Foreword), Euripides (Contributor)

From The Persians
"Defeat is impossible
Defeat is unthinkable
We have always been the favorites of fate.
Fortune has cupped us
In her golden palms.
It has only been a matter
Of choosing our desire. Which fruit
To pick from the nodding tree."

This chilling passage is from Ellen McLaughlin’s new adaptation of The Persians by Aeschylus, the earliest surviving play in Western literature, an elegy for a fallen civi-lization and a warning to its new conqueror. As Margo Jefferson wrote in the New York Times, "The play is a true classic: we see the present and the future right there, inside the past. And when writers give us a ‘new version’ (a translation or adaptation) of a classic, they both serve and use it. They serve the playwright’s gifts by refusing to simplify. But they can’t just imitate. Every age has its own rhythms and drives. The classic must make us feel the new acutely. Ellen McLaughlin serves and uses The Persians with true power and grace."

Also included in this volume: Iphigenia and Other Daughters (from Euripides and Sophocles); The Trojan Women (Euripides); Helen (Euripides); and Lysistrata (Aristophanes), all powerfully realized and as relevant today as when they were first performed.

Ellen McLaughlin’s plays include Days and Nights Within, A Narrow Bed, Infinity’s House and Tongue of a Bird, which have been widely produced. She is a past finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was the co-winner of the Great American Play Contest. Also an accomplished actor, Ms. McLaughlin is most known for having originated the part of the Angel in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, appearing in every U.S. production through its Broadway run.

Genres: Plays, Mythology, Drama, Classics, Theatre

395 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellen McLaughlin on Greek plays: Partly the allure of Greek myths, and of the poems and plays that transformed those myths into art, part of the reason we return to them, forbidding as they can be, alien as they can be, difficult as they are to translate, stage, perform-one aspect of their magnetism is...that certain aspects of our wretchedness and our greatness have altered very little in three thousand years.

Iphigenia and Other Daughters
“‘You will place me at the center of something
And you will lay your tortured head upon my cold feet
And you will finally sleep
This is how the legend performs itself to an end.’”

The Trojan Women
Helen:
“‘What I have was given to me by the gods. It isn’t yours to take from me. It belongs to no one, least of all me. You are fools to hate me. There is no woman here to hate. Only power. And that you cannot skin off of me.
Claw my face to ribbons. Break these smooth limbs. Shave my shining hair to stubble. I will endure.’

‘Whoever I might have been was blasted to nothing long ago in the transforming furnace of the gods’ gaze...fuel to the consuming fire of my fate. I became the Helen. The eating flame of beauty. She happened to the world. It had nothing to do with me...Try to forget me. You will fail.’”


The Persians
“‘My shattered son. Shatterer of my shattered country. My heart is broken with pity...We are Persia’s orphaned children. Let us take her dust in our hands
And ask forgiveness of her holy ground.’

‘Oh Persia, my mother...How I have betrayed you...
Lead me home.’
‘We lead you home.’
‘Home.’
‘Take my hand and lead me home.’”

Oedipus
“‘Open to the light. Enough. No more. Where is the darkness? Let it swallow me.’”

[Xole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these versions. McLaughlin has adapted rather than translated the plays, and she does so in a very accessible way. These are not scholarly works, but plays that can actually be performed, that leap off the page in song and light and speech. "Iphigenia and other Daughters" is raw, horrible, full of truth and darkness. Finally Chrysothemis has a voice, a role, between her power-bound mother and mad sister. And Iphigenia, sweet child, virgin statue. Beautiful. "The Trojan Women" is a harrowing play no matter how it’s retold. But this one was made for refugee women, for Serbs and Croats who fled from fallen cities. Their pain is here writ large; their own loss and fear and their very personal burning Troy. "Helen" is an odd play, even in the original version. It’s bleak somehow, playing with the revelation that the war has been fought for nothing. This version expands on that thought, makes Helen a victim of not just her beauty, but her expectations of what that means, of how she should be. Watching her slowly break free of that world is revelatory. "Lysistrata" is, unsurprisingly, pretty low-brow. It's the only one of these plays I didn't enjoy. I think I’ll stick with the tragedies. "The Persians" is a powerful play. This is the first version I’ve read, so I’m not sure how many liberties the author’s taken with the original, but it’s certainly quite effective. Most interesting because I’ve recently read a history of the Greco-Persian wars, so I have a good grounding in the back story. Lastly, "Oedipus" is a study on the terrible indifference of the Greek Gods. Cursed from birth, for nothing he's done, and made to live with the horror forced on him by Fate.

[haleigh ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed McLaughlins take on the classics. An interesting read that left me wanting more!

[addie beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically just read the adaptation of Helen out of this but i’m logging it anyways. i really enjoyed this adaptation though!

[Riley]

note on this read: i only read The Trojan Women! Hope to read the rest of the book eventually, but wanted to add this to my bookshelf now. Ellen McLaughlin does a good job of translating Euripides' work into a modern vernacular, and captures the energy and truth of the piece well.

update: I've read The Persians now! Same comments are before, McLaughlin translates the piece into an accessible and modern form that captures the pain of the piece. Additionally, I appreciate how she takes the story into her own hands by having Atossa return and greet Xerxes after he has caused all of this destruction and harm to their country. It emphasizes the humanity of these characters as mother and son, while the rest of the chorus struggles to accept the results of their actions and their faith in Xerxes.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous translation--my favorite by far.

[Alexa Gallant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adore these plays! Iphigenia and Other Daughters is definitely one of my favorites of all time.

[Matthew Ciaramella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really liked this. I found it interesting the way she was able to draw parallels between the Trojan War and the lost generation of world war 1. The themes of the greek plays are timeless and true. I found it amazing how Mclaughlin was able to make these great stories modern and accessible.
also, good reads has the page numbers wrong. there are two hundred more pages in this book than they give credit for.

[Lesley Hazleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bold, dynamite adaptations of classic Greek plays, focusing on the women. McLaughlin (actress as well as playwright -- she was the original angel in 'Angels in America') -- brings Iphigenia, Lysistrata, Helen, the Trojan women to new and provocative life. They're sharp, smart, ancient women with modern sensibilities. Immensely moving. And huge fun. McLaughlin is straight-out brilliant.

[Tristan Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some truly excellent translations of ancient Greek plays. The translations of "The Persians" and "Lysistrata" are especially well done (I have now been in two productions of this version of Lysistrata, and enjoyed both immensely). The Iphigenia plays are also quite well carried over.