Influencing Contemporary Theatre Practice

Research on Greek and Roman drama has offered theatre professionals new skills and insights. 

This knowledge and expertise, which has been developed by a research team based at the Archive of Performance of Greek and Roman Drama at the University of Oxford through a project that examined the international production and reception of classical plays since antiquity, is helping to sustain the distinctive and dynamic nature of the UK theatre sector.

The research team has had significant input at rehearsals, initiating discussions on the historical dimension of drama and performance interpretation. This has informed many contemporary productions, including Katie Mitchell's National Theatre production of Ted Hughes's translation of Aeschylus' Oresteia, the Northern Broadsides production of his adaptation of Euripides' Alcestis and a new version of Euripides' Medea at the Oxford Playhouse. A series of public lectures led by the group with prominent international theatre directors, including Poland's Wlodzimierz Staniewski, has drawn much attention from UK theatre practitioners. Researchers have also given public talks on aspects of classical theatre and have been featured on BBC Radios 3 and 4.