Towards Co-creation: Roles of Classics Academics in Modern Productions of Greek Tragedy

Plastow, Christine (2024). Towards Co-creation: Roles of Classics Academics in Modern Productions of Greek Tragedy. In: Bullen, David and Plastow, Christine eds. Greek Tragedy, Education, and Theatre Practices in the UK Classics Ecology. Classics In and Out of the Academy. London, UK: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/b22844-3

Abstract

This chapter examines the roles that Classics academics have and might take in modern productions of Greek tragedy. It begins from the roles academics held as translators as staging Greek tragedy in English became popular in the early 20th century, with a specific focus on Gilbert Murray. It then proposes two models: the consultant, a traditional role in which academics act as repositories of knowledge on which theatre makers can choose to draw or not; and the co-creator, where academics take part in creative processes and share their expertise alongside that of practitioners. The chapter argues that the traditional model may reinforce a sense of hierarchy of knowledge in which academic knowledge is held to be authoritative, while co-creation models can work towards a more equitable process, where various knowledges can be held in equal value.