About the Author:
Simon Goldhill is professor in Greek literature and culture at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of many books, including Love, Sex & Tragedy, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
Review:
“Simon Goldhill’s new book is enthralling. A ‘can’t put down’ and a ‘forever reread.’ His detailed analyses of so many past productions are rare and exciting. His unfolding of the Greek texts and the many different translations is both instructive and exhilarating. He reveals the contradictions within the specific structures of the characters, and also of the chorus, in a way that every actor will be grateful for. I never saw any of the productions he describes, explains, and analyzes, but I have an unforgettable second-hand memory of them, thanks to his own knowledge and keen joy in his subject.” (Vanessa Redgrave)
"Priceless. . . . [Goldhill's] approach is at once deeply informed by the best academic scholarship and no less deeply rooted in a commonsense understanding of what works on stage. The result is one of the most instructive and lucidly written books about theater to have been published in recent years. No one whose interest in drama is more than merely casual should pass it by." (Terry Teachout Commentary 2007-12-14)
"Goldhill proffers a refreshingly light-footed guide to Greek tragedy for the would-be director or actor, uncluttered by the minutiae of scholarship and yet underpinned by authority. . . . The sections on the individual plays are lucid and highly informative." (Finoa Macintosh Literary Review)
"It isn't often we see the idiom 'How to' prefacing the title of an academic study. In this sense, Simon Goldhill's no-nonsense How to Stage Greek Tragedy Today, is singular, but in more important ways such as organization and utility, Goldhill's book is equally impressive." (Timothy Dugan Bryn Mawr Classical Review)
"A thoughtful and eminently readable contribution to performance criticism and reception studies amply illustrated by many of the major productions of Greek tragedy over the last generation. . . . [Goldhill] brings a sensitive ear and eye not only to the literary and cultural aspects of Greek tragedy but also to the texts as scripts for perfomance. This study will be highly useful to theatre practitioners, to experts in the field, and to beginning actors and students. With its wealth of examples drawn from modern productions . . . it is, like Greek tragedy itself, both timely and timeless." (James T. Svendsen Text and Presentation)
"Generally Goldhill is an excellent guide to the plays he discusses, both ancient and modern. . . . Goldhill's book offers valuable help to those unfamiliar with staging Greek tragedy." (Rush Rehm Classical World)
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