Michael Ewans is an experienced and distinguished translator, director and producer of Greek drama, so one approaches this book with a certain amount of apprehension: will the reviewer find himself in disagreement with an important premise? This is, happily, a comprehensive handbook and an excellent factotum guide for anyone thinking of trying to convey an ancient Greek comedy or tragedy on the modern stage. It is aimed squarely at the dramatic practitioner rather than the academic Classicist.
Ewans devotes nearly half the volume to (1) a nuts-and-bolts introduction to Greek drama as we think it was performed, from a practitioner's perspective and (2) a survey of what one might call the ethos underlying Greek drama.
These two chapters are interspersed with dramaturgic notes and advice and are a vital preface to Ewans’ third chapter, in which he deals meticulously with both the obvious and the unexpected hurdles which any modern director will have to contemplate and meet head on. Here, the author's own practical experience (which has clearly informed his theoretical approaches) shines through in a number of sensible and practical sections which pay respect to Greek drama as well as to the challenges it presents to modern production.
Ewans is firmly of the belief that Greek drama was ‘natural’ rather than ‘stylised’. However, he also states that its characters are more two- than three-dimensional and act as mouthpieces of the playwright – that they usually ‘say what they mean and mean what they say’. If so, this appears to represent a paradox of sorts.
There is a short Glossary of Greek Words, a list for Recommended Reading (short, and to the point), a longer list of Works Cited and a list of Audio-Visual Resources, which has details of those productions which can be viewed online (this contains valuable comment and includes links to Ewans’ own productions). There is also an Index.
Open access
