I am performing in a Play called Trojans Essay

It is an old Greek legend but has been re-written and modernised as a play by Simon Adorian. It is about a siege of the city of Troy by the Achaeans. It was over Princess Helena who Prince Paris stole off the leader of the Achaeans, Menelaus. It is shown that it is set in modern times by the spray painting by my character, Prince Cassius, at the beginning and when Laocoon talks about the burnt out cars in scene 3. It uses a Greek style in the way it is written by using a chorus, the youths, although in Greek plays these parts would usually have been sung rather than acted out. The other play I have studied is â€Å"Oedipus the King†. This is a Greek play that is set in Greek times. Greek theatre differed very much from today’s theatre because there was no scenery. It had a raised section on the back of the stage, on which actors stood in order to be seen better. Any murder that took place was committed off stage, but with the chorus filling in the details. The dead body was the brought on the stage on a flat low trolley with wheels to show who had been murdered. The performance styles of the two plays do not differ too much from each other. The chorus still exists in Trojans through the youths, rather than an off stage singing group. Both plays have women in the positions of power and status. Trojans is a modern play with modern cultural themes portrayed through the characters. This would appeal to a modern audience more readily than Oedipus. Oedipus would have been performed in ancient times. In the Greek theatre only male actors were allowed. Also no women were allowed in the audience so it would have been a play by men for men. Trojans now has a mixed audience and therefore explores the issues women have as well as men. This is shown by the peace protestors, who are mainly women, and the youths, who are mainly men. The way plays were portrayed to the audience in Greek times was solely through the chorus, who described the scenery and who was who. There were only three actors in the play, therefore character changes were shown through wearing different masks. The chorus would also have to explain the weather and the theatres were open air and plays were performed in daylight because there was no lighting equipment. Things could also be conveyed through a character called the messenger. He would describe off stage action in long and elaborated speeches. This is closely shown in the character of the spokesman, who describes the off stage battles. As Trojans is set in modern times, different lighting effects and scenery can be used. This mean that there is no need for a passive chorus, but to maintain the Greek feeling Adorian added in an active chorus through the youths. They give transitions between scenes when it is required. The themes in the two play are quite similar. They both revolve around the royal families. With Princess Cassius fronting the peace protest in Trojans, and King Oedipus having been prophesised to kill his father, and does. They are both tragedies. King Oedipus finds out what he has done and that he has fulfilled the prophecy. The tragedy in Trojans is that the Achaeans win in the end. The characters in the two plays are similar. The chorus in Greek plays, although not strictly characters, are very closely similar to the youths by applying transitions between the scenes. Also the Messenger in Greek plays is very similar to the Spokesman, who provides elaborate and vivid word pictures of what is going on in the city and what has happened in the various battles with the Achaeans. The royal families are not similar however due to the fact that the real tragedy at the end is not to do with them as it is in Oedipus, it is to do with the youths. Reflecting on this I will play my character as flippant, perhaps a little ignorant and nai ve. The attitude he takes to the Royal family is that of disrespect and he has a bit of a love hate relationship with them, as they are his family. I would play him as strong headed and wilful due to the fact that he is fronting an active campaign against the war.