The History Of European Theatre

Episode 35

The Menaechmus Brothers is taken from a Greek new comedy original and via this version by Plautus was used by later dramatists, most notably Shakespeare.

In the first half of this episode I summaries the plot that features identical twins and gets quite complicated and confusing for all concerned.

I then discuss the weaknesses in the play and it's more cynical outlook than seen in other plays by Plautus.

A look at he naming of stock characters and some thoughts on the problematic female characters is followed by a look at the influence of the Saturnalia festival on the play.

The theme of the identical twins is strong in the play and supported by other semantical elements in the structure and the Roman ideas of industria and voluptas.

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Episode 34

In this eisode we take a detailed look at Casina by Plautus. It's a tale of two men who try to use their slaves in a plot marry the young Casina by proxy.

It has a prologue of particular interest. The usual stock characters are there, but for once the women come out strongly as they take control of the situation and thwart the plans in comic style.

The play prompts a look at the role of the head of the household, the 'pater families' in Rome and as some suggestions that there is some social commentary on recent events concerning some recent behaviour of the Bacchic cult.

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Episode 33

The life and time of Plautus, the first Roman Playwright from whom we have surviving works. After a hard start he became the most popular of the Roman playwrights churning out comedy after comedy.

This episode looks at his life story and playwriting career.

Then there is a brief summary of his six most significant plays and a discussion of the role of the courtesan character in the plays, including how this reflects the reality of life for women and prostitutes in Roman society.

A note on the lack of political commentary in the plays leads on to a look at how the prologue was used and to conclude I look at the legacy of Plautus in the way his plays have been used as source material for many later adaptations.

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A little extra episode for Christmas week with best wishes to you all for the holiday season.

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Episode 32

An interview with theatre director Jimmy Walters about his 20217 production of Trackers of Oxyrhynchus by Tony Harrison. This version of the Satyr play 'Trackers' by Sophocles was originally performed by the National Theatre in 1988. Jimmy's revival in 2017 was at the Finborough Theatre in west London.

In conversation we discussed the approach to the play and the way the adaptation by Tony Harrison put current social concerns at the heart of the play, which still remained true to many aspects of the original Greek play.

Jimmy Walters' credits include productions of John Osborne's A Subject of Scandal and Concern, Julius Caesar, Improbable Fiction, A Naughty Night With Noël Coward, Hamlet (for a tour in the United Arab Emirates), I the Jury, Breaded Butler, and Dear Ray at the Edinburgh Festival. Recently he directed Billy Bishop Goes to War for Southwark playhouse and Jermyn Street Theatre and The Skin Game also for Jermyn Street Theatre, which due to the UK lockdown in 2020 was presented via Zoom.  

Jimmy co-hosts the '…In quarantine' podcast with Alexandra Evans.  Season 1 discussed several Shakespeare plays and season 2 is taking on the challenge of discussing novels by Charles Dickens.  

You can connect with Jimmy on Twitter @jimmywalters101 

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Episode 31

An interview with Dr Elodie Paillard discussing her work on the non-elite characters in the plays of Sophocles and what they tell us about changes in athenian society in the 5th Century BCE.

Dr Paillard is Honorary Associate in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney and lecturer and scientific collaborator in the Department of Ancient Civilizations at the University of Basel. She is currently leading a research project on Greek theatre in Roman Italy, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. She is the author of 'The Stage and the City. Non-élite Characters in the Tragedies of Sophocles' (Paris 2017).

She is currently co-editing two forthcoming collective volumes, one on Greek Theatre and Metatheatre: Definitions, Problems & Limits and one on Theatre and Autocracy in the Ancient World.  In parallel to her interest in ancient Greek theatre, she is also working on the social structure of Classical Athens and the emergence of democracy.

You can connect with her on Twitter @elopai 

Please support the podcast at

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Episode 30

An interview with Dr Elodie Paillard discussing the development of Roman theatre and the extent to which it developed out of Greek theatre.

Dr Paillard is Honorary Associate in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney and lecturer and scientific collaborator in the Department of Ancient Civilizations at the University of Basel. She is currently leading a research project on Greek theatre in Roman Italy, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. She is the author of 'The Stage and the City. Non-élite Characters in the Tragedies of Sophocles' (Paris 2017).

She is currently co-editing two forthcoming collective volumes, one on Greek Theatre and Metatheatre: Definitions, Problems & Limits and one on Theatre and Autocracy in the Ancient World.  In parallel to her interest in ancient Greek theatre, she is also working on the social structure of Classical Athens and the emergence of democracy.

You can connect with her on Twitter @elopai 

Please support the podcast at

www.patreon.com

www.ko-fi.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 29

A look at the detail of the staging of Roman plays, including the use of the stage, scenery, masks, props and costume.

How wall paintings and sculpture may give us some useful insights into Roman theatre.

The position of actors in Roman society and how the acting troupe may have been organised.

Cicero's commentary on theatre and it's audience and some detail on his friendship with the two greatest actors of the day and how they helped him get out of a political scrape.

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Episode 28

Theatre gets its first permanent home in Rome as Pompey builds a theatre to his own glory. The story of how he was able to do that is one of wealth, pride deception and not a little ego.

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Episode 27

Theatre buildings in Rome developed over the long period of time from the Etruscan Period and through the republican period, but throughout they were temporary structures albeit on an ever grander scale. In this episode we trace the development and look at the political and social forces in Rome that kept theatre mobile and temporary.

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