Greek Tragedy and the Digital - by George Rodosthenous & Angeliki Poulou (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Adopting an innovative and theoretical approach, Greek Tragedy and the Digitalis an original study of the encounter between Greek tragedy and digital media in contemporary performance. It challenges Greek tragedy conventions through the contemporary arsenal of sound masks, avatars, live code poetry, new media art and digital cognitive experimentations. These technological innovations in performances of Greek tragedy shed new light on contemporary transformations and adaptations of classical myths, while raising emerging questions about how augmented reality works within interactive and immersive environments.

Drawing on cutting-edge productions and theoretical debates on performance and the digital, this collection considers issues including performativity, liveness, immersion, intermediality, aesthetics, technological fragmentation, conventions of the chorus, theatre as hypermedia and reception theory in relation to Greek tragedy.

Case studies include Kzryztof Warlikowski, Jan Fabre, Romeo Castellucci, Katie Mitchell, Georges Lavaudant, The Wooster Group, Labex Arts-H2H, Akram Khan, Urland & Crew, Medea Electronique, Robert Wilson, Klaus Obermaier, Guy Cassiers, Luca di Fusco, Ivo Van Hove, Avra Sidiropoulou and Jay Scheib. This is an incisive, interdisciplinary study that serves as a practice model for conceptualizing the ways in which Greek tragedy encounters digital culture in contemporary performance.

Review Quotes

This is a rich volume that I would recommend to scholars of the ancient Mediterranean and theatre studies, as well as artists outside the academy ... For digital artists, theatre-makers, theatre scholars, Classicists, and anyone who inhabits multiple worlds at once, this volume is proof that tragedy and the digital have much to say to and through one another.
The Classical Review

About the Author

George Rodosthenous is Professor Theatre Directing at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries of the University of Leeds, UK.

Angeliki Poulou is Assistant Professor at the Department of Digital Arts and Cinema, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.