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Dionysus Resurrected
Performances of Euripides' The Bacchae in a Globalizing World

“The changing fortunes of The Bacchae, as told in this engaging book, are almost as dramatic as the play itself. Long neglected, it made an astonishing comeback in the sixties, capturing our world of cultural and religious clashes with uncanny precision. In these pages, Erika Fischer-Lichte has turned a classic into a masterwork for our time.”
--Martin Puchner, Harvard University

“There is only one person (Fischer-Lichte) who has the experience, the knowledge and the perspectives – theoretical, theatrical, political – to write this book.  It simultaneously illumines the ancient Bacchae and the contemporary global theatre.”
--Oliver Taplin, Oxford University

“For the first time, performances of The Bacchae are studied from a world perspective – North, South, East and West. Fischer-Lichte's pioneering book is illuminated by her nuanced conceptions of ritual.”
--Maria Shevtsova, University of London

Erika Fischer-Lichte (Author)

9781405175784, Wiley

Hardback, published 13 December 2013

264 pages
23.9 x 16.3 x 2 cm, 0.49 kg

Dionysus Resurrected analyzes the global resurgence since the late 1960s of Euripides’ The Bacchae. By analyzing and contextualizing these modern day performances, the author reveals striking parallels between transformational events taking place during the era of the play’s revival and events within the play itself.

  • Puts forward a lively discussion of the parallels between transformational eventsduring the era of the play’s revival and events within the play itself
  • The first comparative study to analyse and contextualize performances of The Bacchae that took place between 1968 and 2009 from the United States, Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia
  • Argues that presentations of the play not only represent liminal states but also transfer the spectators into such states
  • Contends that the play’s reflection on various stages of globalization render the tragedy a contemporary play
  • Establishes the importance of The Bacchae within Euripides’ work as the only extant tragedy in which the god Dionysus himself appears, not just as a character but as the protagonist

Acknowledgments vii

Preface ix

Introduction 1

–Rediscovering The Bacchae –

Part I: Festivals of Liberation: Celebrating Communality 25

Chapter 1: The Birth Ritual of a New Theatre 27

– Richard Schechner’s Dionysus in 69 in New York (1968) –

Chapter 2: Celebrating a Communion Rite? 48

– Wole Soyinka’s The Bacchae of Euripides at London’s National Theatre (1973) –

Chapter 3: Sparagmos and Omophagia 72

– Teat(r)o Oficina’s Bacantes in São Paulo (1996) –

Part II: Renegotiating Cultural Identities 91

Chapter 4: On the Strangeness and Inaccessibility of the Past 93

– The Antiquity Project at the Schaubühne Berlin (1974) –

Chapter 5: Performing or Contaminating Greekness? 116

– Theodoros Terzopoulos’ The Bacchae in Delphi (1986) –

Chapter 6: In Search of New Identities 136

– Krzysztof Warlikowski’s The Bacchae in Warsaw (2001) –

Part III: Productive Encounter or Destructive Clash of Cultures? 157

Chapter 7: Dismemberment and the Quest for Wholeness 159

– Suzuki Tadashi’s The Bacchae in Japan and on World Tour (1978–2008) –

Chapter 8: Transforming Kathakali 186

– The Bacchae by Guru Sadanam P. V. Balakrishnan in Delphi and New Delhi (1998) –

Chapter 9: Beijing Opera Dismembered 206

– Peter Steadman and Chen Shi-zheng’s The Bacchae in Beijing (1996) –

Epilogue 225

Name Index 231

Subject Index 236

Subject Areas: History [HB]
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