Executive Summary

The project, Ancient Greek Theatre in action: exploring the performance of Greek plays will enable this new module to achieve its maximum impact in equipping the students of both departments with the skills to analyse ancient Greek dramatic texts as librettos for performance. In particular, the grant will enable the sponsoring of two practical workshops led by professional theatre directors who have recently achieved highly acclaimed productions of Greek drama, namely Adele Thomas (dir. Aeschylus' Oresteia, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, 2015) and Helen Eastman (artistic director of the live Canon and three times director of the Cambridge Greek play). By working together with these practitioners in weeks 3 and 13, the students will examine practically the implications for performance to be found in ancient Greek dramatic scripts, including interaction of individual actors with the choric group, conveying meaning with body, gesture and props, and entering into a two-way relationship with the audience. The workshops will be video-recorded and stills will be used for further reflection in future weeks. In week 15, Professor Fiona Macintosh, Director of the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, will collaborate with the instructor, Dr Emmanuela Ba kola, to give the students an in-depth understanding of the study of ancient drama in modern performance. She will also introduce them to the brand new interactive e-book on Euripides' Medea􀀆 which explores the play's modern reception (https.//itunes.apple.com/gb/book/medea-a-performance-history/id1085751260?mt==11).

It is expected that 50 students in total will take the module, 33 from Classics, 10 from Theatre and Performance Studies, 5 from English and Theatre Studies, 1 from English Literature and 1 from Italian and French Studies. For the workshops, the students will be divided into three groups, each of which will comprise students from all disciplines. The workshops will also be open for auditing by a small number of students from other departments, including students of MA Drama and Theatre Education. By enabling the interaction of students coming from different disciplines and hence different perspectives and backgrounds, it will thus allow the enrichment of the students' dialogue and collaboration.

It is expected that 50 students in total will take the module, 33 from Classics, 10 from Theatre and Performance Studies, 5 from English and Theatre Studies, 1 from English Literature and 1 from Italian and French Studies. For the workshops, the students will be divided into three groups, each of which will comprise students from all disciplines. The workshops will also be open for auditing by a small number of students from other departments, including students of MA Drama and Theatre Education. By enabling the interaction of students coming from different disciplines and hence different perspectives and backgrounds, it will thus allow the enrichment of the students' dialogue and collaboration. centres, notably the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Archive for Performances of Greek and Roman Drama.