Episodes

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.

Episode 14 Dionysus takes centre stage in a fantasy of mad women and cross dressing kings. The last and strangest play by Euripides it was a return to tragedy by this ever inventive poet, but unlike anything else that had been seen before.

Episode 13 A deep dive into the Euripides version of the story of Electra and her revenge on her mother. Euripides gets down to a more human level while still injecting passages of polemic, but we can also start to get elements of realism and sibling heroes who are not quite heroic enough.

Episode 12 A deep dive into one of Euripides' greatest plays. Is it pure melodrama, a polemic on the rights and treatment of women, or one of the greatest tragedies ever written? As ever Euripides splits opinion.

Episode 11 A summary of the life and times of Euripides, the youngest and most daring of the three great Greek tragedians, but who suffered from a mixed reception in his own time.

Episode 10 The story of the death of Oedipus was Sophocles' last work and puts the role of the Greek hero into a new light. We travel to Colonus, the home town of the playwright, to see the end of Oedipus' troubled life.

Episode 9 We travel back into the heart of the Oedipus myth with Sophocles' interpretation of this dark story. Seen by many as his greatest work it is a dark tale of unwitting patricide and incest that relentlessly leads to tragedy.

Episode 8 A detailed look at the first of the Theban plays by Sophocles. Greek drama gets personal as the end of a great family drama is acted out, but it's also a political debate as Sophocles questions what happens when man made law bumps up against natural law.