Customer Reviews

Divine Fire: Eight Contemporary Plays Inspired by the Greeks

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My favorite play was Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. I'm not sure if this is out in any other form, but certainly the book is worth buying just to read this play, which has the deftness and economy of a classic Greek text, and the emotional range and subjective depth of a modern classic. She's my favorite author of plays.

This collection is a wonderful series of retellings of classical plays and myths in modern theater pieces. Well worth the reading--especially for those interested in revisions of classical materials.

I took a graduate class on Greek theatre and the first part was dedicated to the Tragedies. Then we turned to the plays written based on those tragedies, and this was our book.

First, if you wish to read this book or use it, you'll have to be up on your Greek tragedies. Most of the stuff assumes you know those plays well so that you can understand the inside info. Some of the plays were simply aweful and a few were even offensive to the point that I quit reading them. And as a theatre student, I like to think I can stomach a lot but where in the story of Hippolytus and Phaedra does a twelve-year-old boast about all the sexual experiences she's had? Ugh. If it were old, I MAY understand based on culture, but as a modern subplot added on, it's just revolting.

There were a couple of plays that were okay, and I just love Sarah Ruhl's adaptation. If you've read the classics, reread them before you read this book, and be prepared for the strange.