Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price The story of the mythical Greek king of Thebes, the archetypal tragic hero who accidentally fulfills a prophecy that he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster down upon his city and family. This volume, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, contains two plays by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonos, in English translations by Kenneth McLeish. It also includes an introduction to the plays.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price In the aftermath of the bloody Trojan Wars, the women of the city lament their fate and look fearfully ahead to the future. Covering themes of religious scepticism, the injustices within roles for women and the destructive power of war, Euripides' tragedy Women of Troy is as relevant now as it ever was. This English translation by Kenneth McLeish is published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, with an introduction by Marianne McDonald and Michael Walton.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Bored with her sheltered existence, Miss Julie attempts to seduce the footman, but gets far more than she bargained for... August Strindberg's classic naturalistic play Miss Julie was written in 1888, and first performed at Strindberg's experimental theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1889, despite being banned by the censor. This English version, translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish, is published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series. The volume also includes Strindberg's Preface.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Henrik Ibsen's revolutionary play about a woman's awakening to her need for a life of her own. A Doll's House was premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 1879. This English version of A Doll's House is translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Restless and discontented in her marriage, Hedda Gabler is drawn to a former admirer, Lovborg, now a brilliant writer. But he is more taken with Hedda's old schoolfriend. Driven by jealousy, Hedda destroys Lovborg and his precious manuscript and, finally, herself. This English version of Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler, published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish.

'Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all' Aristotle 'Knowing yourself is the mark of all wisdom' 'You will never do anything in this world without courage' Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers that has ever lived. Taught by Plato, he was the first genuine scientist in history, a true pioneer of both science and philosophy. Widely credited as the inventor of the field of formal logic, his ideas have remained relevant throughout the world down through the centuries. Whilst little is known about his life, he tutored Alexander the Great and established a library in the Lyceum. The poet Dante called him 'the master of those who know'. Kenneth Mcleish's short work is the perfect introduction to one of the most influential philosophers and scientists of all time.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price At the whim of Dionysos, a son is torn to pieces by his own mother during the famous women-only Bacchanalian ritual. The story of revenge by the half-man half-god on Pentheus, King of Thebes, and all his people. This version of Euripides' Bacchae is translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish and Frederic Raphael.

The Penn Greek Drama Series presents original literary translations of the entire corpus of classical Greek drama: tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays. It is the only contemporary series of all the surviving work of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander. "A boon for classicists and general readers alike. For the reader who comes to tragedy for the first time, these translations are eminently 'accessible.'. . . For the classicist, these versions constitute an ambitious reinterpretation of traditional masterpieces."--"Boston Book Review" "A speakable version of Sophocles's 'Philoctetes': as it were, after 25 years, a sequel to Pound's 'The Women of Trachis'." --Hugh Kenner, "New York Times Book Review" "A two-year project to publish the corpus of classical Greek drama in translations by an impressive array of contemporary poets. It may not be long before anyone who mentions that he is reading Sophocles in Greek can expect to be told, 'Oh, but you simply "must' read it in translation.'"--"New Yorker" "Don't look for the wild and woolly--these were put together by wordsmiths. . . . But they are a far cry from some of the stodgier translations."--"Washington Post" "The 12-volume set will offer readers new verse translations of the complete surviving tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as well as the surviving comedies of Aristophanes and Menander. The complete line of Greek theater classics has not been offered to readers since 1938."--"Publishers Weekly"

One of the most influential tracks in World Theatre, The Poetics is much mentioned but little read. It is credited as the source of the 'Aristotelian' doctrine of the Three Unities -- of Time, Place, and Action -- but in fact insists only on one of them. This brand new translation by Kenneth McLeish seeks to make this famous text as accessible as possible and to allow readers to experience Aristotle's arguments directly for themselves.

Going to see a 'Shakespeare' and want a quick run-down on the plot before you start? Teaching the 'Henry's' and need a handy guide to all the histories for the students? The Faber Pocket Guide To Shakespeare's Plays gives all this and more: an introduction to Shakespeare and his times; a note on the sources; cast lists, synopses; main character descriptions and an essay on each play. It is a concise, readable and essential guide to all 36 plays.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Henrik Ibsen's mighty epic, by turns fantastic and tragic, based on the Norwegian fairy tale Per Gynt. Ibsen's play, his last to be written in verse, follows the poet and braggart Peer Gynt as, fleeing disgrace, he swaggers and seduces his way from the fjords of Norway to the deserts of Africa and back. Peer Gynt was originally published in 1867, and first performed in Christiania (Oslo) in 1876. This English version, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Moliere's comedy about the notorious womaniser, in a fresh and performable translation by Kenneth McLeish. Set in Sicily, Moliere's play retells the famous myth of Don Juan, the womaniser with no morals and a scorn for religion. It charts his relationship with his servant Sganarelle, his romantic philandering, his false conversion and his ultimate punishment. Don Juan was first performed in 1665 in the Theatre du Palais-Royal, Paris, with Moliere playing the role of Sganarelle. This version in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series is translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish.

A new and definitive guide to the theatre of the ancient world The Guide to Greek Theatre and Drama is a meticulously researched and accessible survey into the place and purpose of theatre in Ancient Greece. It provides a comprehensive author-by-author examination of the surviving plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander, as well as giving an insight into how and where the plays were performed, who acted them out, and who watched them. It includes a fascinating discussion of the function of the essential characteristics of Greek drama, including verse, rhetoric, music, comedy, and chorus. Above all it offers a fascinating viewpoint onto the everyday values of the ancient Greeks; values with a continuing influence over the theatre of the present day.

Reissue of Aristophanes' most famous plays in the Methuen Classical Greek Dramatists series

Aristophanes was a unique writer for the comic stage as well as one of the most revealing about the society for which he wrote.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price One of Henrik Ibsen's most powerful studies of female psychology, The Lady from the Sea introduces the character of Hilde Wangel, who reappears in Ibsen's later play The Master Builder. Ellida Wangel cannot give herself fully to her husband because she is overwhelmed by memories of the past and her attraction to the ocean. Will she suffocate on dry land, or find freedom across the sea? This English version of The Lady from the Sea, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated by Kenneth McLeish, with a full introduction by Stephen Mulrine, biography and suggestions for further reading.

Part of the Nick Hern Books Dramatic Contexts series: important statements on the theatre by major figures in the theatre. One of the most influential tracts in world theatre, Aristotle's Poetics is crucial to an understanding of how drama works, and how it has evolved. It is the source of the doctrine of the Three Unities - of Time, Place and Action - and the concept of catharsis in tragedy. Writing only a hundred years after Sophocles and Euripides, Aristotle's insights into Greek drama are endlessly rewarding. This English translation by Kenneth McLeish makes the famous text more accessible than ever before, without cutting or paraphrasing. Important passages are highlighted, while key words and concepts are glossed within the text, without the need for intrusive footnotes. The result is an authoritative text of Aristotle's Poetics that allows readers to experience his arguments directly for themselves. Also included is a compact introduction by McLeish to Aristotle and his ideas.

A single-volume edition of the major Greek tragedies

In a period of sixty-six years, three Athenian playwrights produced a series of tragedies which became a touchstone for drama for the next two and a half thousand years. The six plays in this volume include Aeschylus' Persians (472 BC), the earliest surviving Greek tragedy and only surviving 'history' play; his Prometheus Bound, perhaps the most deeply mythological of all tragedies, presenting an archetype of the human condition; Sophocles' Women of Trachis, a deeply poignant piece, portraying Heracles' death through his wife's mistake; his strange Philoctetes, which presents a fascinating moral debate and a young man's realisation of the importance of loyalty to his own ideals; Euripides' Trojan Women, the greatest anti-war play ever written; and his intangible Bacchae, a play full of paradoxes which functions at many different levels.

The volume is edited and introduced by Marianne McDonald, Professor of Theatre and Classics, University of California, San Diego, and J. Michael Walton, Professor of Drama at the University of Hull.

Six wide ranging classic plays with introduction by the editor The comedies of the Athenian theatre not only lie at the root of Western drama, they also offer a unique insight into everyday life in ancient Greece. This selection of six wide ranging plays includes the comic fantasies of Aristophanes, which combine the ridiculous with serious satirical comment (Birds, Frogs, Women in Power); Menander's The Woman from Samos, a recognisable forebear of today's situation comedy; Euripides ribald satyr play, Cyclops, the only surviving example of the genre, and his Alkestis, a complex romance which gave a new face to comedy. The volume is edited and introduced by J. Michael Walton, Professor of Drama at the University of Hull and founder/director of the Performance Translation Centre there.

Published in the new Methuen Classical Dramatists series

A dramatist whose trademark was the unexpected, Euripides has constantly challenged and intrigued audiences, from Athens of the fifth century BC to the present. The three plays in this volume demonstrate Euripides' versatility. Hippolytos (which was turned into Phedre by Racine), deals with sexual passion, incest and abstinence; Suppliants (a version of the Antigone story) sets the play in Eleusis and dramatises the moment when the mothers of the dead sons of Oedipus beg Theseus to go to Thebes and demand their sons' bodies for burial. In Rhesos, all the confusion of sentry duty, the intrigue of spies and intruders, disguises and deceptions are crammed into a single night when the fortunes of war turn against the Trojans by a mixture of devious behaviour and sheer bad luck.

"Euripides, the Athenian playwright who dared to question the whims of wanton gods, has always been the most intriguing of the Greek tragedians. Now, with translations aimed at the stage rather than the page, his restless intellect strikes the chord

This volume contains some of Euripides' most famous works: Elektra, which reverses previous notions of 'heroic' behaviour; Orestes, in which almost all the characters are driven by base motives of cowardice or revenge; Iphigeneia in Tauris who presumes her brother Orestes dead and her mother Klytemnestra and stepfather Aigisthos still living, is visited by a surprise guest.
Elektra, Oresetes and Iphigeneia in Tauris were performed together as Agamemnon's children at The Gate Theatre in 1995 and show the consequences of Agamemnon's "sacrifice" of his daughter at the start of the Trojan war.

Published in the new Methuen Classical Dramatists series Written at the height of the Peloponnesian War, the three plays in this volume highlight the trivial causes and dire consequences of war and the fate of the innocent. In Andromache, Hektor's widow struggles to survive as the concubine of her husband's killer. Herakles' Children and Herakles show his two young families, without his powerful protection at the mercy of his enemies. Full of humanity and subtle characterisation, these new translations by Robert Cannon and Kenneth McLeish which are intended both for performer and student, Euripides is reaffirmed as a fresh and compelling dramatist.

_x000D_ Horvath's

Kenneth McLeish's stunning translations of three plays exploring the Trojan War, by one of the great Athenian dramatists. Each play shows the aftermath of war from a different standpoint. Women of Troy is set amongst a group of captives waiting to be shipped from Troy as slaves - Queen Hecuba is their comforter but in Hecuba she is driven to the edge of insanity by her own great personal loss. Helen takes place seven years after the end of the War. In Egypt - treated as a backwater, far from 'real' events - Helen waits anxiously for her husband Menelaus to rescue her. _x000D_ One of the greatest and most influential of the Greek tragedians, Euripides, is said to have produced 92 plays, the first of which appeared in 455BC.