Introduction

The introduction of this book explores the reasoning behind the author’s exploration of postmodern theatrical adaptations of ancient Greek theatre. It explains how the author uses feminist, counter canonical discourse to explore theatrical re-makings of Antigone, Medea and Trojan Women which reconfigure the protagonist female figures and question traditional Western values. Furthermore in her introduction Kekis explains how she uses a cultural materialist stance when approaching and assessing the cultural intervention made by these adaptations within their specific cultural, historical and political moment. Finally, this chapter places the performance analyses which will follow within the framework of “postmodern Brechtian theory” and shows how that approach re-defines the conceived notions of classical theatre, and subverts the assumed authority of the ancient texts and the conservative approaches embedded in their interpretation over the centuries.