A picture of the theatre of Dionysus in Athens taken in 1870 by Sebah Pascal (1823 - 1886).

Ancient Greek Theatre

October 26, 2012

Euripides’ Medea was first performed in at the City Dionysia Festival in Athens in 431BC, nearly 2,500 years ago.

What would it have been like to have attended the original production? It’s difficult to know for sure. There is not enough historical evidence to present a definitive picture and scholars argue over the exact details. There is, however, one thing we can know for sure. The experience of watching a play in the theatre in ancient Greece was very different from watching a play in a theatre today.

If You Have Time to Read This, You Have Time to Save the Arts from Funding Cuts

December 6, 2010

In September, I was asked by Papercut Theatre to write a short play in response to the impending arts cuts. The piece was staged as part of Cut Off at Theatre 503. At the time, I felt enthusiastic about the project. The arts community was pulling together to oppose the approaching cuts. Petitions were being signed, the Arts Funding site was buzzing with discussion and I Value the Arts twibbons were all over Twitter.

Photo by ray roper/iStock / Getty Images

How Polish Playwriting Stole the Show

November 17, 2010

Tadeusz Słobodzianek's Our Class, which had its world premiere at the National theatre in London last September, has won the 2010 Nike Literary award. For the first time ever, Poland's most prestigious literary prize has been scooped by a play.

Shopping

August 4, 2010

I’m standing in near darkness. The only source of light is a small lamp held by a frail old man in a night cap. I’m inside the house from Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, but the family are long gone and only Firs their manservant remains, locked in forever. He whispers to me in Russian, reassures me and ushers me into his spartan room. Suddenly the gloom floods with fluorescent light. The shuffling silence fills with lift music. Through walls of glass, women pushing trolleys like Russian Stepford wives are peering back at me. Looking across at the brilliantly coloured boxes in the freezer cabinets on the other side of the aisle, I realise where I am. Firs and I are standing inside of one of these cabinets. We too are products and we’re for sale.