The Production and Performance of Comedy in Antiquity

Abstract

With rare exceptions, the ancients gained acquaintance with drama through performance. For most of antiquity, dramatic songs, speeches, and dialogues were better known from recitations and performances in schoolrooms and at dinner parties than from theatrical productions. By the late fourth century, tragedy and comedy had become the symbols par excellence of Greek culture, and the epithet is no longer justifiable. In the last few decades, the publication of new theater sites and the reexamination of old ones has seriously challenged the cliche about production in large round theaters. The evolution of the form of Greek comedy is profoundly marked by the tensions between the cultural, political, and economic interests served by the theater. Both the religious and the political context of Athenian drama encouraged a high degree of audience participation.Keywords: Greek comedy; public performances; theatrical productions