Episodes

Episode 5 A detailed review of Agamemnon, the first part of The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus

Episode 4 The situation of Athens at the time of the first extant tragedies. The very earliest dramatists and the little we know of them The life of Aeschylus including his service in the Persian Wars His earliest surviving play 'The Persians'

Episode 3 The vocabulary of the theatre we inherit from the Greeks The layout of the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens and it's main features Developments in the theatre over time The Chorus Stage Machinery Masks and costume The judging and prizes

Episode 2 An overview of the history of Greece to the 5th Century BCE including Minoan and Mycenaean periods, the Greek dark age and the rise of the city state. The development of the religious festivals and their main features An overview of the main playwrights and their plays: Aeschylus Sophocles Euripides Aristophanes Menander

An introduction to The History Of European Theatre Podcast

Episode 1 An Introduction to the podcast and your host. Pre-history and how the urge to mimic and present might have been the start of theatre. Religious ritual and Shamanism. The Abydos Passion play and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. The beginning of Greek Theatre. A note on dates and the nature of translations.