Theatre seems to have developed a long way from its archaic origins. This should not surprise us, after all we have come a long way from ancient Greek society where, two thousand years ago, Aeschylus placed an extra character beside the chorus leader, and in so doing created a new phenomenon: dialogue. And with dialogue came drama, in the original sense meaning a conflict wherein Man revolted against Fate in an attempt to establish his freedom. But there is no such thing as freedom in classical drama and the protagonist’s revolt can only end one way, in death. Today, we find it hard to accept this absence of freedom, the predestination of people’s lives. We like to believe that we can choose our fate. Perhaps that is why we find it difficult to accept the inevitable condition of our lives; namely that can only be, precisely as in the ancient dramas, only one possible ending. There is only one ending… |
