4. Greek and Renaissance Theatre, F24.pdf

INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE GREEK AND RENAISSANCE THEATRE Class 5 CLASS PLAN & LEARNING OUTCOMES Describe at least three characteristics of performances in Ancient Greece Recount at least one Ancient Greek dramatist Describe the differences in the nature of th...

INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE GREEK AND RENAISSANCE THEATRE Class 5 CLASS PLAN & LEARNING OUTCOMES Describe at least three characteristics of performances in Ancient Greece Recount at least one Ancient Greek dramatist Describe the differences in the nature of theatrical experience in Ancient Greece & Elizabethan England to modern day Judge the importance of Shakespeare and the new Globe Theatre in creating a lasting historical presence Discuss the legacy of Shakespeare Explore the nature of tragedy  THEATRE BEGINNINGS “Modern” formal theatre began in Greece (c. 500 B.C.) Theatre: theatron, a ‘seeing place’ in Greek Drama: dran, Greek for ‘to do’ Dionysus: God of wine and fertility…and theatre Thespis: first winner for best actor/writing in Athenian competition Size: venues held up to 14,000-17000 spectators – modern day sports arena. “The culture of classical Greece was a performance culture … to be in the audience is above all to play the role of democratic citizen.” Goldhill, S. The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy, p54. THEATRE OF ANCIENT GREECE THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, BROCKETT, 2017 Festival Theatre: financed & undertaken by and for the ‘community’ at annual ‘festivals’. More akin to games - involved competition between plays. Ancient Greek world view: happiness dependent on fragile harmony between humans and supernatural forces. Tragedy often result of human attempts to escape fate or will of gods. Differences in the nature of theatrical performance in Ancient Greece: 1. Offerings to a god – used to uphold a social order. 32 plays have survived from largely three writers: 2. Expressions of civic pride. Aeschylus (523–456 B.C.); 3. Indications of Athenian cultural superiority other Greek states. Oresteia. Sophocles (496–406 B.C.); 4. Akin to a sporting event today – large scale. Antigone & Oedipus Rex. 5. Performers wore masks. Euripides (480–406 B.C.); Medea, The Trojan Women, 6. Performance were lengthy in duration and began at dawn. and The Bacchae 7. Men played both male and female roles. 8. Nonrepresentational conventions  PERFORMERS THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, BROCKETT, 2017 Four categories: o Actors (x3 multi-roling) o Supernumeraries (Non-speaking extras) o Musicians – akin to a film score designed to enhance emotion o Chorus (15 men) – performed in unison and distinctive to Ancient Greece. Choral odes, performed between episodes, divided the action into segments something like the acts of a modern play. The chorus served to: o Form a collective character who expressed opinions, gave advice, and occasionally threatened to interfere in the action. o Express the author’s point of view and establish a standard against which the actions of the characters could be judged. o Served as the ‘ideal spectator’, reacting to events and characters as the author would like the audience to react. o Helped to establish mood and heighten dramatic effects. o Added colour, movement, and spectacle as it sang and danced the choral interludes. OEDIPUS REX, SOPHOCLES Sophocles (496-406 B.C.) wrote 120+ plays & won 24 contests. 7 plays survive. Oedipus Rex first produced around 430 B.C. Begins with the prophecy prior to the birth of Oedipus – “characterization is pared down to essential attributes and the most important traits are psychological and moral” Plot Summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IfTDtuPLeg GREEK TRAGEDY AND MODERN ADAPTATION The Essential Theatre, Brockett, 2017 “Some of the world’s top theatre artists have often found inspiration in these earlier plays and have sought ways to communicate their continuing relevancy.” KAOS trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-max0wOTcuI (2m) THINK. PAIR. SHARE. WHY HAS OEDIPUS REX CONTINUED TO ATTRACT AUDIENCES? Skilful construction. Concern with the moral taboos of incest and patricide. Themes of universal relevance; The uncertainty of human destiny emerges through the fall of Oedipus from a place of highest honour to that of a social outcast. The limited ability of human beings to control their fate; In trying to avoid the oracle’s predictions, Oedipus fulfils them. It is significant that the play makes no attempt to explain why destruction comes to Oedipus – implying that human beings must submit to fate. A CHANGE IN THEATRE - SHAKESPEARE European theatre changed drastically during the 16th / William Shakespeare, 1564–1616 17th centuries; Born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon o Growing secularization – desire for enjoyment. Attended King’s New School, studied Latin Middle class background, no university education o Revived interest in the classical world included Greek plays – imitation of classical subjects. Married Anne Hathaway in 1582, aged 18 Children, Susanna and twins Judith and Hamnet o Elizabeth I’s 1558 ban on plays dealing with religious Most notable company was Lord Chamberlain's Men and political subjects – theatre became secular & therefore fun! Performed in various London spaces before the Globe Theatre opened on the Southbank in 1599 o Growing demand for new plays and theatres: Headliner in his own time, but not “genius” until later 1567 - 1625 more than a dozen playhouses built. Died aged 52, buried in Holy Trinity Church SHAKESPEARE’S WORK Wrote 38 plays: 16 comedies, 12 tragedies, 10 histories plus 154 sonnets First Folio published in 1623, 7 years after death Second Folio came in 1632 with 1,700 changes Text came from published quartos, memory, notes and “foul papers” During the restoration period, classical work became vogue Popularity grew in the 19th and 20th century – Shakespeare and Empire Today, he is widely considered the greatest English language playwright with performances globally HOW WAS THEATRE DIFFERENT IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND? All the parts were played by men Each actor was only given his role, not the whole play script Rehearsal time was limited (two weeks) and many plays staged at once – changing bill everyday Entertainment quality was high and audience interacted with the actors and action on stage Self-evident artifice / non-illusionistic vs. naturalism – the soliloquy Performed mainly outdoors, during the day – no electric lighting Minimal set and props were used but lavish costumes – travelling No intermission Average run for a play was 10 performances Atmosphere like a modern sports event GLOBE THEATRE SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE THINK. PAIR. SHARE. WHY DO YOU THINK SHAKESPEARE REMAINS SO POPULAR TODAY, 400 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH? Variety; wrote in many different genres, created a wide range of characters and developed themes that still speak to us today. Adaptability; speaks to many different kinds of audiences and generations, can be seen through different lenses, settings, and time periods Availability; much of his work survives, unlike his contemporaries. Shakespeare’s friends and colleagues published his plays after his death. Simplicity; psychological, poetic, and linguistic beauty of his text Judi Dench: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_X1dbO-quI ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, BROCKETT, 2017 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) – began in 1879 as the Stratford Festival celebrating Shakespeare during the summers Sense of heritage, pride and tradition of Shakespeare ”Shakespeare became an unknowing poet of empire. He was a symbol of national pride, of quintessential Englishness and the power of the English language – all things that were being imported to the colonies with a kind of missionary zeal.” Shehrazade Zafar-Arif, Kings College London  SHAKESPEARE: POSTCOLONIAL LENS “The Tempest is frequently linked to issues “Shakespeare was a powerful tool of of colonialism and race primarily because empire, transported to foreign climes along of Shakespeare’s creation of the servant, with the doctrine of European cultural who possesses indigenous heritage from the superiority. Taught in schools and island as a descendent of the supposed performed under the proscenium arches devil and witch Sycorax. Prospero’s built where the British conquered, universal dominance over Caliban throughout the Shakespeare was both a beacon of the play emphasises the hierarchy of the greatness of European civilisation and a island, especially as Ariel, who is also gateway into that greatness – to know the subservient to Prospero, has more liberty bard was to be civilised.” Emer O’Toole, and respect from Prospero and Miranda.” Guardian Izzy Goddard, University of Brighton WHAT IS TRAGEDY? “Tragic is often used in everyday speech to describe a wide span of accidents, calamities and mishaps, from the trivial to the catastrophic. But tragic is also an aesthetic term that refers to a distinctive forming of material; here it describes not just suffering, but a particular shape of suffering.” Felski, R. Introduction, New Literary History, 35 (2004), p.xii “Where the causes of disaster are temporal, where the conflict can be resolved through technical or social means, we may have serious drama, but not tragedy. More pliant divorce laws could not alter the fate of Agamemnon; social psychiatry is no answer to Oedipus. But saner economic relations or better plumbing can resolve some of the graves crises in the dramas of Ibsen…Tragedy is irreparable.” Steiner, G. The Death of Tragedy, p.8. “Tragedy arises when we are in the presence of a man who has missed accomplishing his joy.” The Collected Essays of Arthur Miller, p.13. SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX, SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET & ARISTOTLE’S TRAGIC HERO Tragedy predominantly associated with Ancient Greece and Elizabethan England GROUP PRESENTATION ACTIVITY 1. In groups, plan a modern production of Oedipus I. Where / when would you set the play and why? II. Which themes would you want to highlight as your focus and why? 2. In groups, plan a modern production of Taming of the Shrew I. Where / when would you set the play and why? II. Which themes would you want to highlight as your focus and why? LEARNING CONSOLIDATION Describe at least three characteristics of performances in Ancient Greece Recount at least one Ancient Greek dramatist Describe the differences in the nature of theatrical experience in Ancient Greece & Elizabethan England to modern day Judge the importance of Shakespeare and the new Globe Theatre in creating a lasting historical presence Discuss the legacy of Shakespeare Explore the nature of tragedy  NEXT WEEK… Where: Meet at VERTO What: QUIZ & Modern Theatre When: 1pm