Government Emerson College Multan
Discussion
Started 22 August 2024
What are examples of new interpretations (and sequels to) classic dramatic plays?
Many times such classic playwrights as Shakespeare have served as a frame for a new play based on one of his plays. These new works may vary slightly or drastically from the original. We also have films that are new versions of classic theater.
Can we compile some examples here?
Why are these plays written?
Can we find examples of plays being told from a different character's point-of-view than in the source play?
What new conditions do they represent?
Even the original play may have been a new version of an older text, so do we have examples of that?
Most recent answer
From Marlowe to Shakespeare , nothing is ambiguous . The certain plays of Shakespeare are perfomed in American theatres to remove excess of humors of war ridden soldiers@Geoffrey Guenther
All replies (8)
Government Emerson College Multan
As in Beckket , different dimensions of Eastern Sufism have been explored and , In postmodern American play , ( Street Car named desire ) changing values and social dilemmas of American society have been represented specially after war@Gloria Lee Mcmillan.
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Radboud University
Postcolonial authors have rewritten classical texts quite often, in a move to "write back." Examples: Aime Cesaire, A Tempest (rewriting Shakespeare's The Tempest), Derek Walcott's Omeros (rewriting Homer's Odysee). There are also many Shakespeare-adaptations around, for instance by Heiner Müller. Adaptation are quite common.
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Riga Technical University Liepaja Academy
Interpreting the classics is not just about rewriting the text. A completely new interpretation is mainly related to the influence of the time of the production on the director's message. This can be expressed by any of the elements that make up a performance, in varying degrees of intensity. It is often expressed in the genre of the production defined by the creative team, which is different from the playwright's definition. The term 'new' can also have both a local and a global meaning. Nothing is set in stone in the performing arts.
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Government Emerson College Multan
Can classics be corelated in Postmodern terms , such as magical realism written by Marquez and fantasy treated by Tolkein ? If applied these above mentioned forms of literature , interesting findings may come out becose these Postmodern techniques are themselves classics of this epoch and era , where in certain underdeveloped countries, due to fanatic terrorism,it is difficult for writer to write .@Vesma Levalde.
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University of Arizona
These are all enlightening replies that are coming in. We could hold a conference. In theatre alone, many new versions of classics plays have been a way to address the contemporary rhetorical situation using the canonical and classic drama text. Any more ideas?
This is a highly simulating discussion.
Do any participants here have their own texts or in-progress revisions of the classics?
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Independent Research
"Classic plays" might be somewhat ambiguous. Could a play based on a story from antiquity be considered classic? Could "Our Town" be considered classic? The subject is certainly of interest, in any case. I've mostly written and participated in short plays, compared to only one full three-act work, which probably could not be produced for contemporary audiences.
Related Publications
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 439-451) Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas Tech University, 1988. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 267-272).
A chronicle of the inferior images and social stereotypes of blacks as portrayed in early American drama. Through a discussion of representative plays, the development of black theatre is traced and the argument advanced that black playwrights, in responding to white stereotypes, also contributed to the perpetuation of racial myths. (EH)