An invigorating and welcome addition to the ever-popular canon of Greek adaptations, finds reviewer Paul Bateson.
There is something enticing about stories perceived as ‘ancient’ but presented as contemporary. There's a reason we continue returning to Greek classics, Shakespearean tragedies, European comedies and other texts that are hundreds or even thousands of years old. There's more reason still that these texts are consistently found in theatre programmes, acting courses and school curriculums.
As the cover of Greek Tragedies for Contemporary Times states: ‘Protest, desire, free will: the central themes of Greek classics have never been more prescient.’ They're not wrong there. These three reimagined plays were first commissioned by the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre for its Springboard programme for new actors. This trio of offers imaginative and thought-provoking takes on Greek classics, with fantastic performance opportunities for students and actors alike.
The playwrights involved here have strong credentials. Kathryn Soper is an NT Connections writer and Bruntwood Prize winner, Dipo Baruwa-Etti has had work staged at Almeida and Paines Plough, and Sophie Ellerby (since starring in This is England at 15 years old), has written for NT Youth Theatres.
The contexts to which the playwrights have applied to these texts are deliciously provocative and pertinent: striking staff at an NHS STI clinic (Lysistrata); young women on the cusp of adulthood in the 21st century (The Bacchae); and single mothers at a food bank (The Trojan Women). These settings alone provide a great way into classic Greek theatre for a modern viewer or student, and which would support any groups looking at the differences between an authentic staging and a contemporary adaptation.
It should be said that the adaptations are quite a step away from the originals. Lysistrata, for example, is a doctor's strike rather than a sex strike, and aside from the faithful character names, are all written in contemporary dialogue. This is the strength and indeed the intention of this collection, and the plays benefit from fresh perspective and voice.
These scripts are an invigorating and welcome addition to the ever-popular canon of Greek adaptations.