Comedies of Ancient Athens
Course Title: Comedies of Ancient Athens
Course Code: 5XCA10C19
Start Date: 24/04/2020
Day of the Week:- Friday
Session: Morning
Length in weeks: 10
Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Price: £
The comedies of ancient Athens are perhaps less well known than the tragedies; this is a pity, as the eleven surviving comedies of Aristophanes are brim full of wit, satire, fantasy, exuberance, politics and playfulness. The Birds, The Frogs, The Clouds, The Wasps, Lysistrata and others are still performed regularly, both in translation and in the original Greek, and whilst most productions make some adaptations to suit modern audiences, the spirit of the original plays shines through. During our weekly sessions we shall consider the theatrical and social context of these comedies, we shall watch extracts, and, of course, read some of the plays together. Participants might like to have a copy of The Frogs and Other Plays, translated by David Barrett (Penguin), but this is optional.