Love Magic

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Resource Event: Television Transmission
Title Love Magic
Creator Contributors
Abstract/Description Ancient Greek magic rituals brought to life in a theatre performance. What would an ancient Greek poem look like if it was performed now and is it relevant to a modern day audience? These are the questions that were explored in a research project involving a theatre performance of Love Magic. Love Magic was written around 280-260 BCE by the ancient Greek poet Theocritus. The story features a young woman scorned by her lover. The performance was funded by the Centre for 21st Century Humanities and was led by Professor Marguerite Johnson, a researcher of Classics, magic and gender. Conjoint Professor Michael Ewans translated the play and directed the performance. Their research process investigated whether Theocritus' Poem 2, the monologue which they titled Love Magic, could be effectively re-created for a modern Australian audience, and to investigate how it might have been performed for audiences in Theocritus' own time. Prof. Ewans said this was necessary because most scholars believe that this and other poems by Theocritus using dramatic forms were only meant for readers. “We have concluded that the monologue is highly performable; it is an example of the genre that the ancients called mime– a short, spoken play which was almost certainly performed with imaginary props, as was our production, and probably before a mixed, popular audience rather than a literary elite,” he said. The performance was held over 4 nights in August 2019 and the audiences were surveyed after each performance.
Related Events
  • Love Magic, Royal Exchange Theatre, Newcastle, NSW, 14 August 2019
Related Venues
Item URL
Language English
Citation Marguerite Johnson , Michael Ewans, Love Magic
Resource Identifier 68849
Dataset AusStage