Landmarks of World Drama
This new group will be a discussion group (so no actual play reading in the sessions) and will function like a conventional book group. It will meet on the second Thursday of the month, 10 am to 11.15 am, in the Large Meeting Room in St Ives Library.
Before each monthly meeting we will read a set play (occasionally two plays or a trilogy).
For the first 2 years, there will be a volume of Ibsen plays to buy (about £7). In later years there will again be an inexpensive paperback to buy.
All other plays will be available free of charge in English online - I will provide a link and you can then use your electronic device (iPad, laptop, etc.) to read the play at home. There is a wide range of great plays available for free online, including:
- Ancient Greek drama;
- Shakespeare;
- Modernist plays.
For all our plays, we will look at each in its historical context, some being daring for their times and even censored or banned. All were written for the general public and so are immediately accessible.
The turn of the C20th and beyond marks a pinnacle of experimentation, with Nobel Prize winners for literature such as Pirandello, Hauptmann, O’Neill, Beckett and Pinter.
For Shakespeare, online versions of the plays are available with the original poetic Shakespearean English on the left facing a modern English ‘translation’ on the right (e.g. at litcharts.com). You can also usually borrow footnoted copies via the Cambridgeshire County Libraries Service (50p reservation fee).
Our (C5th Athenian) Greek plays are short. All are available in modern translation and so are easy to follow. Not only do they stand as great literature but they also tell us about Ancient Greece.
We will ponder apparent enigmas of Greek drama, e.g. why, in a democracy, do kings and queens regularly walk the stage? And why, in a patriarchal society in which women had little status or power, do so many of the plays feature powerful, commanding women (Medea, Antigone, Electra)?
For all plays, I will email you not only a link to an online play script but also, usually, a link to a theatre production, film or audiobook version of the play so that you can enjoy it in performance. For Ibsen’s Ghosts, for example, you’ll be able to watch an outstanding film version with Judi Dench, Michael Gambon and Kenneth Branagh.
The first year will cover some fascinating ground, including: the nature of free will (Oedipus), questioning of traditional gender roles (A Doll's House), reality vs illusion (Six Characters in Search of an Author), jealousy and racism (Othello), incest and euthanasia (Ghosts), the state vs the family (Antigone), free love (Awakening of Spring). What fun! All 4 of the Modernist plays covered proved controversial when first staged.
The first meeting will be on Thursday 10th October. The dates and plays selected for the first ‘year’ are set out below. Aside from the small cost of our Ibsen set book, there will be a charge of just £10 for the year (7 sessions from October to April inclusive), to cover Library Room hire. Group numbers will be restricted to 11, to enable everyone to express their views.
I studied European literature (including Greek Tragedy and Modernist Drama) at uni and am keen to share my interest! If this new group appeals, please get in touch with the Group Convenor, Bruce, via the email 'envelope' icon beside this page.
Schedule - 2024/25
Winter term, 2024
10th October (Sophocles: Oedipus the King)
14th November (Ibsen : A Doll's House)
12th December (Pirandello: Six Characters in Search of an Author)
Spring term, 2025
9th January (Shakespeare: Othello)
13th February (Ibsen: Ghosts)
13th March (Sophocles: Antigone)
10th April (Wedekind: Awakening of Spring)
For more details click here: Plays Selected for 2024-2025 and World Drama: Useful links for 2024-2025. For thoughts about the plays we might look at in future years, see World Drama: Future Plans.
Set book for purchase
Henrik Ibsen: Four Major Plays (A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder) (Oxford World Classics, ISBN: 978-0199536191).
Around £7 new, secondhand around £4 (including P&P), e.g. from wob.com and amazon.co.uk.
We will study 2 plays from this volume in 2024-2025 (see schedule above) and the other 2 the following year.