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In the Theatre of Dionysos: Democracy and Tragedy in Ancient Athens Paperback – July 27, 2007

by Richard C. Sewell (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
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Ancient Athens was unique in its politics, extraordinary in its religion and fanatic about its poetry. Yet its creativity peaked in a time of prolonged, avoidable and catastrophic war; the brilliance of Greek tragedy blazed while the people who made it were bringing ruinous defeat upon themselves.

This book describes the parallel lives of Athenian democracy and Athenian tragedy--how and why they concurrently arose, blossomed and died, shaped especially by a fatal Athenian penchant for war. The author, an actor visiting the Theater of Dionysos at Athens (where the Greek tragedies premiered), considers what hints time has left us of the life and death of Greek tragedy and of the three tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides) some few of whose plays survive. He demonstrates how drama emerged from a fusion of four unique elements in Greek culture: bardic poetry; open sporting competition; uncodified religion; and exploratory philosophy. With glimpses of the authors, backers, performers and audiences who collectively created that astounding body of work, the book imagines the evolution of the tragic genre from a practitioner's viewpoint.

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  1. Print length
    216 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    McFarland
  4. Publication date
    July 27, 2007
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 0.43 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0786429933
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0786429936
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Reading [this book] is like sitting down to a leisurely, open-ended chat―probably over a glass or two of scotch―with one of those passionate, marvelously well-informed, creative and freewheeling thinkers who manages also to be charming. There are insights here that I can’t wait to put to use in my next directing project, and enthusiasm here that rejuvenates the reader for the daily business of living a good life and/or doing good theatre.”―Shepard Sobel, Artistic Director, The Pearl Theatre Company, Inc.

About the Author

Richard C. Sewell, AEA, a founding director of The Theater at Monmouth in 1970, directed and acted there until 1993. He taught directing and theater history for the Colby College Theater and Dance department from 1974 to 2001. He lives in Maine, writing and directing. His plays have had recent productions in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ McFarland (July 27, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786429933
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786429936
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.43 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

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Richard Sewell

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5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
3 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating perspective
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
As an actor with a real interest in theater history, I was delighted to read this book that both filled in a lot of fascinating details and framed the stories in a new context. Theater has always been seen as a means for political change - but its impact may never have been stronger than in the early days of Greek democracy. I enjoyed the conversational style of the author, which invited me to share his journey. (I wish I'd read it before my trip to Greece. It would have made standing in some of the ancient theaters a very different experience.)
I read the book for pleasure, but it would make a great classroom text and poses some interesting questions and theories. It also would offer a researcher a source of little known stories and connections.
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Greg
5.0 out of 5 stars "Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in the World"
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2007
Richard Sewell, a well-known playwright and director himself, mixes historical writing, an extensive knowledge of ancient Greece, and decades of personal experience in the theatre, to imagine what it must have been like to be one of the three best Greek tragedy writers of the time; as such, this is very much like Stephen Greenblatt's groundbreaking "Will in the World," except about the ancient Greek tragedians. With a perceptive eye and wry humor, Sewell travels back and forth between 2500 years ago and today with ease.

Here's Sewell on Aeschylus: "Still, he had to deal with the amalgam of practical expedients and passions a director with sparse technical support must pour into a mold. Wouldn't such hot metal crack a cast? Aeschylus was one of those titans of energy that arise rarely out of our gene pool. He wrote between seventy and ninety plays: four plays make a festival entry; entries for twenty of the over twenty-six years he worked comes to eighty plays. If he won first place eighteen times, he lost twice...Between his first victory in 484 and his final one in 458, he must have gotten very accustomed to standing beside his producing choragos of the year to have the priest of Dionysos put the wreath on his brows."

If this book has a drawback, it's not one of its own making: It's the sort of intelligent and wide-ranging work that can be enjoyed by a newcomer to Greek Theatre and an expert alike--which makes it difficult to market. Certainly, it'd be a welcome addition to any college class on Greek Theatre; but, more importantly, if you don't know anything about ancient Greek plays, this is an excellent place to begin. Highly recommended.
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T. B. Markus
5.0 out of 5 stars In the Theatre of Dionysos
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2007
This is a brilliantly written, dazzlingly informative, and intellectually stimulating book that is a MUST for anyone interested in theatre, in ancient Greece, in democracy (then and now), and in just plain good reading. Sewell's recipe? Add equal parts genuine scholarly knowledge and practical theatrical know-how, season with the lyricism of a poet, let it simmer in deeply personal meditation, and serve it in tasty short portions that reward the reader with a glorious aftertaste. Can a book about ancient Greek theatre be a page turner? This one is.
One person found this helpful
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