The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro - (Methuen Drama Play Collections) (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book gathers together the three "Greek" plays of the MacArthur Genius Award-winning Chicano playwright and performance artist. Based respectively on Sophocles' Electra and Oedipus, and Euripides' Medea, Alfaro's plays transplant ancient themes and problems into the 21st century streets of Los Angeles and New York, giving voice to the concerns of the Chicanx and wider Latinx communities.

Book Synopsis

The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfarogathers together for the first time the three 'Greek' plays of the MacArthur Genius Award-winning Chicanx playwright and performance artist.

Based respectively on Sophocles' Electra and Oedipus, and Euripides' Medea, Alfaro's Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, and Mojada transplant ancient themes and problems into the 21st century streets of Los Angeles and New York, in order to give voice to the concerns of the Chicanx and wider Latinx communities.

From performances around the world including sold-out runs at New York's Public Theater, these texts are extremely important to those studying classical reception, Greek theatre and Chicanx writers. This unique anthology features definitive editions of all three plays alongside a comprehensive introduction which provides a critical overview of Luis Alfaro's work, accentuating not only the unique nature of these three 'urban' adaptations of ancient Greek tragedy but also the manner in which they address present-day Chicanx and Latinx socio-political realities across the United States.

A brief introduction to each play and its overall themes precedes the text of the drama. The anthology concludes with exclusive supplementary material aimed at enhancing understanding of Alfaro's plays: a 'Performance History' timeline outlining the performance history of the plays; an alphabetical 'Glossary' explaining the most common terms in Spanish and Spanglish appearing in each play; and a 'Further Reading' list providing primary and secondary bibliography for each play.

The anthology is completed by a new interview with Alfaro which addresses key topics such as Alfaro's engagement with ancient Greek drama and his work with Chicanx communities across the United States, thus providing a critical contextualisation of these critically-acclaimed plays.

Review Quotes

"In these plays, Luis brilliantly transplants Sophocles's Electra and Oedipus and Euripides's Medea into the modern-day streets of Los Angeles and New York. In doing so, he gives voice to the rich, complex lives of the Chicanx and Latinx communities and neighborhoods that he knows and loves. This book is a must-own for any student and lover of contemporary, American plays." --LA Review of Books

"A Bloomsbury translation: In this way, the entire book constitutes more than a simple collection of Alfaro's plays. Each of the sections of the anthology reiterates the creation of an archive ... Andújar's work thus contributes to the preservation of the memory of these communities which have turned to the theatre as a venue through which to tell and connect their own stories with other cultures, geographies and temporalities, constantly and necessarily crossing all kinds of borders." --Latin American Theatre Review

"Andújar not only offers a richly annotated introduction at the beginning of this volume: each of the three plays also begins with a separate introduction that contextualizes the dramatic work in a way that is both enthralling and enlightening ... A must-read for any student and fan of contemporary theatre. And for those of us who have a particular love of Chicanx and Latinx drama, this volume will bring immeasurable reading pleasure and enlightenment." --La Bloga

"From the opening scene, the cultural combination is intoxicating ... A fascinating trilogy." --British Theatre Guide

"Equipped with Andújar's excellent introduction to Alfaro's work generally and to each adaptation, plus a production history and interview with Alfaro, this book not only makes the scripts of three very successful plays available for the first time for everyone, but also presents a unique and fascinating way of engaging with the ancient Greek dramas of which Alfaro's plays are adaptations." --Skenè Journal of Theatre and Drama Studies

"A welcome addition to the bookshelves of those with an interest in the afterlives of Athenian tragedy ... The volume as a whole exemplifies the way in which collaboration between academics and practitioners enhances classical reception studies: this reviewer would be delighted to see more contemporary classical reception texts being given similar treatment." --Greece & Rome

About the Author

Rosa Andújar is Deputy Director and Lecturer in Liberal Arts at King's College London, UK. She has co-edited two volumes which address her research expertise in ancient Greek tragedy and its modern reception: Paths of Song: The Lyric Dimension of Greek Tragedy (2018) and Greeks and Romans on the Latin American Stage (2020).

Luis Alfaro is a Chicano writer/performer known for his work in poetry, theatre, short stories, performance and journalism. Alfaro held a six-season tenure as the Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2013-2019). He was a member of the Playwright's Ensemble at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre (2013-2020). Alfaro is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, popularly known as a "genius grant", presented to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. Alfaro is a Joyce Foundation Fellow. In 2019, Alfaro was awarded the PEN America/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a Master American Dramatist, The United States Artist Fellowship from the Doris Duke Foundation, and the Ford Foundation's Art of Change Fellowship. Alfaro's plays and performances include Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, Mojada, Delano, Body of Faith, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Straight as a Line, Black Butterfly, Bitter Homes and Gardens and downtown. Alfaro spent over two decades in the Los Angeles poetry community and touring the United States and Mexico as a performance artist. He is an Associate Professor with tenure at the University of Southern California.