Theseus The King: Play Analysis

The play I would pick that would be centered on the life of Theseus would be focused on the myth of him and the Minotaur. I feel like this is a good myth for a tragedy because there is a small number of characters at play, chiefly Theseus, his father Aegeus, the Minotaur itself, King Minos’s daughter Ariadne, and Daedalus who helps Theseus defeat the labyrinth. This small character list would fit the need for only three actors. I also think this particular myth has a lot of the features needed for a Greek tragedy as there is the needed feminine and masculine elements with Theseus and his new lover Ariadne. And to a more psychological level the conflict between Theseus and Minotaur which can hint at the animalistic nature of man fighting against …show more content…
And while it is noted to not break unity of time I feel it would be vitally important to the play to somehow incorporate the return home for Theseus and the subsequent death of his farther because this would be a chief emphasis on the tragic role of Theseus saving others but not being able to save his own farther. One feature that would be changed to fit theatre would be the Chorus being made up of the children trapped in the labyrinth. Much like the Chorus in Medea being made up of Corinthian women as a backdrop for the setting (Euripides’ Medea 123-127), I think having the trapped younger Athenians/children would make the play distinct and give them a unique perspective to comment on the actions of the play. Another broad feature would be to have climatic scene of Theseus slaying the Minotaur to happen off-screen and not at the end of the play, and allow for this to be discussed by the Theseus and others afterwards. This would be much like how the death of Agamemnon is not the end of the play, but has Clytemnestra and Cassandra continue the play after this climax (Aeschylus’s Agamemnon