THE Greeks have not had much to laugh about in recent years. Falling incomes, rising unemployment and a pervasive fear of being forced out of the euro foster a gloomy mood. Even the latest news of a third bail-out worth €86 billion ($96 billion) feels more like a reprieve than a promising new start. Still, the holiday season usually lifts the country, and this year Greeks are cheered by summer performances of classical dramas. Perhaps the gripping plots and rich metaphors of the ancient world seem more relevant than ever. Are labours to repay foreign debts Sisyphean? Was the prime minister’s victory in a recent referendum Pyrrhic? Aristophanes, the ancient comic playwright whose raunchy satires were first performed 25 centuries ago, is especially popular. His plays, written for an annual drama festival in Athens, first entertained weary citizens impoverished by a long-running war with Sparta. This year productions of two works, “Acharnians” and “Ecclesiazouses”, in modern Greek translation, have become unexpected hits. They opened in July to sell-out audiences at the prestigious annual festival of ancient drama held in a 14,000-seat amphitheatre at Epidaurus in southern Greece. Both productions are now touring the country’s open-air stages. Audiences grow in difficult times, says Platon Mavromoustakos, professor of theatre studies at Athens...
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