Greek Theatre
Orchestra: circular ‘dancing space’ for the
chorus. In its centre was an altar to
Dionysus.
Skene: stage house at the rear of the
orchestra was a stone building that
contained the dressing rooms, props,
storage area and acted as a backdrop to
the action. Two central doors with smaller
doors on each side, through which the
actors could enter and exit.
Theatron: auditorium with semicircular
tiered seating on which the audience sat,
from high up on the hillside to the most
important seats in the front (usually
reserved for the priests of Dionysus and
state officials). The audience could be
seated up to 30 metres away.
The Chorus
A Greek chorus performed completed in unison –
together singing, dancing, chanting and using
symbolic gestures to explain their poetic
speeches.
They appeared in identical costumes; traditionally
robed and with masks.
In Ancient Greece the chorus was a group of 1520 men who appeared at regular intervals during
the play, breaking the action into distinct acts.
They usually took on the role of ‘the people of
Athens’ acting as a narrator; introducing and
explaining events in direct address to the
audience.
The chorus also commented on the action,
explaining and enlarging the play’s themes and
issues.
The poetic speeches of the chorus also created
imagery for offstage action or past events that
were not included in the play.
Greek Plays
Antigone
By Sophocles
This tragic play chronicles the life of the
warrior Ajax after the events in
Homer’s Iliad, but before the Trojan War
ended.
Ajax
By Sophocles
More than likely originally a part of a trilogy
starting with Oedipus Rex, Antigone, the third
instalment of this tale, focuses on the
eponymous daughter of the doomed Oedipus
and his mother Jocasta.
Greek Masks