Greek drama is still relevant today, with productions such as Oedipus and Medea continually in the public eye. What makes this interesting, however, is the abundance of variations that can be seen in a text that is thousands of years old. Some of the most prominent adaptations of Greek dramas include the following:
The National Theatre's modern-day adaptation of Medea
The 1998/1999 revival of Sophocles' Electra, which ran for 115 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theater (Simonson)
The National Theatre's 2008 production of Oedipus, with Ralph Fiennes (of Harry Potter fame) in the title role
Dallas Theatre Center's upcoming (April/May 2017) environmental production of Electra, in which audience members walk through the grounds of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and watch scenes with accompanying information through headphones ("Dallas Theatre Center Electra")
This is just a small sampling of the many, many adaptations that have been seen in regional and professional theatre. Modern adaptations are readily seen in New York, London, Africa, and Europe, among other countries. According to Helene P. Foley, author of "Modern Performance and Adaptation of Greek Tragedy," Greek plays evolve throughout the years along with the changing political and social climate of the time period. Given the historical context of ancient Greek tragedy, however, this may seem impossible-- Greek theatre was a ritual to the Gods, and modernizing it may difficult given its rich background. As Foley states in an explanation of this phenomenon:
"...every contemporary performance of a Greek tragedy must be an adaptation of sorts, since it involves translation of the language of the original and confronts a profound ignorance of the music, dance, and theatrical context that conditioned its first presentation" (4).
Modernizing these productions allows for many more windows of opportunities to appear for all those involved with and interested in theatre. For example, we would not be able to employ women in these productions if we still followed ancient Greek hegemony, as all of the roles were played by men. By modernizing productions, women can portray the multi-layered, female characters that characterize many of the plays, thus opening up an entire sphere of opportunity for modern female actors. In the ancient Greek civilization, it was not sexist to allow men to portray women-- it was simply the culture, as women were confined to the private sphere of life. However, accepting a culture where only men played the female roles would more than likely be viewed as satire through a contemporary lens, as the common theatre-goer does not have the background knowledge to understand the cultural, historical, and social significance of ancient Greek theatrical practices.
As outlined in Amanda Wrigley's "Greek Drama in the First Six Decades of the Twentieth Century: Tradition, Identity, Migration," ancient Greek plays serve as a baseline for playwrights to adapt into modern productions that may deviate from exact translations. For example, Alberto Savinio's Alcesti di Samuele is based off of Euripides' Alcestis, but instead takes place in Munich the aftermath of WWII. This adaptation, which features a Jewish woman who takes her own life in order to protect her Christian husband, is "a testament to postwar freedom of speech... [as] the mere mention of Judaism by writers had been impossible under fascism" (Wrigley 380). While these are not exactly word-for-word Greek dramas, they still remain relevant, showcasing the ways in which the themes and myths in the dramas take shape in the 20th century.
Although productions of ancient Greek dramas are becoming increasingly contemporary, directors and playwrights do still choose to put elements of ancient plays into their works. By including frowning masks and a singing and dancing chorus in given productions, modern dramatists create "an opportunity to bring to life those aspects of ancient drama that are alien to the tradition of Western nineteenth-century realism" (Foley 2). The western world has been following a specific script of dramatic structure for decades, but the performance of Greek elements teaches us about the past in a tangible manner. It is important to remember that without ancient Greek customs and traditions, the adaptation of these works into the modern era would not be possible.