The chorus in Iphigenia at Aulis

The BA Programme “Studies in Hellenic Culture” of the Open University of Cyprus, and the modules ELP21 “Ancient Greek and Early Byzantine Literature” and ELP31 “Ancient Greek Theatre” in particular, invite you to the lecture: “The chorus in Iphigenia at Aulis: An impassive chorus or a community in crisis?” by Magdalena Zira.

Abstract
A politically charged contemporary production of a Greek tragedy must first take into consideration the way it will treat the chorus, i.e. the onstage community through which the great political conflicts of each play are expressed. However, how can we treat a chorus that does not possess a central role in the development of the plot? Any contemporary stage director concerned about the difficult issues of collective identity, dance and ritual is even more puzzled over a chorus that neither affects nor is affected by the plot. For instance, it is often argued that some of Euripides’ choruses resemble a series of musical interludes rather than are identified with a protagonist. This presentation, by focusing on the case of Iphigenia at Aulis as well as making references to other plays by Euripides, will argue that even if a chorus community seems weak, superfluous, incapable of affecting the plot or even unconcerned about the ongoing events, it still offers the contemporary audience a great opportunity for a political interpretation of the chorus’ role and the play in general.

About the speaker
Magdalena Zira is a stage director and a researcher of the reception of Ancient Greek drama. She is a founding member and the artistic manager of the independent stage company “Fantastico Theatro”, whose activity revolves around two axes: the contemporary performances of texts from classical antiquity as well as the support and promotion of theatrical composition in Cyprus. She studied Drama-Directing (MFA in Drama-Directing, University of California, Irvine) and Classics (BA Classics, University of Oxford). She also possesses a Master degree from King’s College in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (ΜΑ in Drama-Text and Performance Studies, King’s College, London). She is a PhD candidate at the Classics Department of the King’s College London. Her thesis is on the chorus in contemporary performances of Ancient Greek drama (supervised by Professor Edith Hall, to be submitted in 2016). Over the last years, she has been actively involved in the promotion of theatrical composition in Cyprus. She is among the people who thought, planned and are responsible for the organisation of the programme “Play”, which aims at the promotion of the local composition of theatrical plays. She is a scholar of Onassis and Leventis Foundation.
(http:magdalenazira.wordpress.com)

If you wish to listen to the lecture online, please follow the link:
eclass-live2.ouc.ac.cy:80/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1431098