Playing the Chorus in Greek Tragedy

Modern audiences see the chorus as an emblematic yet static element of ancient Greek drama, whose reflective songs puncture the action. This is the first book to look beyond these odes to the group's complex and varied roles as actors and physical performers. It argues that the chorus' flexibility and interactive nature has been occluded by the desire from Aristotle onwards to assign the group a single formal role. It presents four choreographies that ancient playwrights employed across tra...