Cover illustration: Medea's Dress, Piero Tosi, 1969

 Chair: Alessio Francesco Palmieri Marinoni.

In the 20th and (thus far in the) 21st century, classical theatre performances multiplied throughout the world. The ancient theatre of the Greeks and Romans has come back to life in the contemporary imagination; it converses with other media and fascinates directors and playwrights, actors and audiences, readers, students and aficionados.

This growing, increasingly demanding public, which perceives ancient drama as something profoundly topical, will find here a synthesis of the last century of theatre history organised by themes, trends, and exemplary cases – as well as the tools needed to discover, or rediscover, the classical theatre and to actively participate in a satisfying collective theatrical experience.

The seminar will focus on case studies linked to classical tragedy to point up how directors’ choices and interpretations attribute meanings and functions to costume.

SEMINAR PROGRAM:

• The rediscovery of tragedy
• Period costume or contemporary dress
• The costume-text-society paradigm
• Analysis of the costumes in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Medea
• Comparison of Peter Stein’s Orestea and Bob Wilson’s Odyssey

SUGGESTED BOOK TO READ:

Cavalli, M. (2008) Lo spettacolo nel mondo greco, Bruno Mondadori Editori

Dunbar, Z. – Harrop, S. (2018) Greek Tragedy and the Contemporary Actor, Palgrave McMillan