Thiasos

When attending modern productions of ancient Greek plays it is easy to forget that ancient Greek dramatic performance was once a thrilling synthesis of speech song, dance and spectacle.

Unlike most adaptations of Greek drama, where the choral set pieces are either included as a relief from the plot or excluded altogether, Thiasos’ adaptation of Euripides’ Hippolytos places the all singing all- dancing chorus firmly at the centre. Euripides’ lyrics are sung in the original Greek, preserving the sound and rhythms of the language. Everything else is challengingly new.

A narrator briefly recounts the unfolding plot. The characters in the drama—gods and mortals—emerge to act their parts in the style of a Balinese Topeng masked dance-drama, and the chorus perform their dances as Jaipongan, a contemporary dance form based on traditional styles from West Java.

The parallels between Greek and Indonesian art forms run deep. Both use masks and live dance traditions with a meaningful repertoire of formal gestures that derive from a religious context packed with significance for all participants—audience and performers alike.