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Elections and divine wrath

In the last week before the US election, a storm of almost unprecedented violence (Hurricane Sandy) caused great devastation and loss of life, especially in New York and New Jersey.   The election was held on Tuesday 6 November, and a day or two later a second storm created further disruption in the same areas, with …

Lysistrata the Warrior?

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata (see Two productions next year) is often thought of as a classic anti-war play.  In Lysistrata the warrior Alan Sommerstein argues that this is a considerable oversimplification.  Aristophanes’ heroine sees nothing wrong in warfare unless it is against the current enemy, Sparta, and even the war with Sparta is ended on terms that virtually amount …

Two productions next year

Spring 2013 will be Greek drama time in Nottingham!  Two productions, a comedy and a tragedy, and both on the theme of the miseries of war.  In April, the University’s own Lakeside Arts Centre will stage Aristophanes’ comedy Lysistrata, in which the women of Greece, by withdrawing their sexual services, compel their menfolk to stop fighting …