Episodes

Episode 37 Terence had a short life and left only six complete comic plays, but he moved the genre on from Plautus and other earlier dramatists. The story of his beginnings as a slave and how he came to Rome The circles he moved in and how he got support from the Practician class and Caecilius Statius the best known comic dramatist of the day. A short word on the history of Caecilius Statius and Ambitious Turpio, producer and actor. Contemporary criticisms of Terence and his use o...

Episode 36 The influence of Plautus and other Roman playwrights has long been understood, but what are those influences and how did the Roman plays come to the attention of Rennaisance playwrights? How manuscripts survived after antiquity and were rediscovered in the early Renaissance. The growth of secular drama in Italy and the role of Duke Ercole d'Este in Ferrara Terence Vs Plautus as the Roman plays became known and appreciated in northern Europe. How early English plays used...

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 prob...

Episode 34 In this eisode we take a detailed look at Casina by Plautus. It is 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 ther...

Episode 33 The life and times 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 soci...

A little extra episode for Christmas week with best wishes to you all for the holiday season. If you would like to support the podcast please find us at: www.Patreon.com or www.ko-fi.com This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 32 An interview with theatre director Jimmy Walters about his 2017 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 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 as...

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 Roma...

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 Found...

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.

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. Support the podcast at: www.patreon.com www.ko-fi.com

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.

Episode 26 In the second part of the introduction to the theatre of Rome the Greek influence becomes more obvious and we start to get some details about the playwrights of the time. Taking this overview through to the beginning of the period of Empire the scene is now set for the entrance of the three playwrights of the period who's work is known to us. If you would like to support the podcast please find us at: www.Patreon.com or www.ki-fi.com

Episode 25 Season 2 of the podcast begins with an overview of the transition from Greek Theatre to Roman Theatre with the history of the early Roman Republic and the early forms of theatre, starting at 364 BCE and taking us through to the beginning of the end of the Republic in the second century BCE

Episode 24 In the final episode on the story of Greek Theatre a further fleshing out of three big subjects in Ancient Greek theatre - The Mask, The Theatre Buildings and The audience. The podcast will then take a short break before we start on the Roman theatre in season 2. Thanks for coming with me through the story of Greek theatre and the meantime please review, rate and like the podcast wherever you listen from so more theatre and history lowing people can find us. Support the podca...

Episode 23 In the penultimate episode on the story of Greek Theatre a look at the final years of Greek tragedy and comedy and the Athenian festivals. Then some thoughts on the development of Mime as a dramatic form and notes on our sources. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 22 The Satyr play is one of the most enigmatic elements of Ancient Greek drama and we have few surviving examples of it. A look at the stories it told, its development and it's place in the story of Ancient Greek theatre.

Episode 21 A look at three substantial fragments of Menander's plays as they have come to us through the centuries.

Episode 20 A look at the only surviving complete play by Menander and our only full representative of the genre of new comedy.

Episode 19 The Hellenistic world moves on into a period of domination first by Sparta and then by Macedon, but theatre survives and thrives as New Comedy. Our view of how that development progressed is entwined with the life of Menander who is the only representative poet for this period.

Episode 18 Perhaps the best known of the comedies by Aristophanes Lysistrata imagines a world where women take control in an attempt to force and end the Peloponnesian war. It is sex comedy with a message as the Athenian golden age nears the end.

Episode 17 Aristophanes takes a dig at the Athenian legal system and the city leaders who use it to their own ends. The system was part of the democratic process that Athens was still hanging on to despite the rigours of the Peloponnesian war. Citizens took part in the legal process with the same vigour that they displayed when voting or debating. From street crime to murder, how were the criminals judged and punished?

Episode 16 Aristophanes took a wry look at the art of philosophy that had become very trendy in Athens. In particular he pokes fun at Socrates and his philosophical method as a father and son try to escape their mounting debts. It's a funny story, but had a bitter twist for Socrates.

Episode 15 The story of the life, times and plays of Aristophanes, the creator of the only complete plays that we have from the genre of 'old comedy'. He lived in Athens during the turbulent times of the Peloponnesian war and used satire and comedy to criticise the war leaders and Athenian society.