The Diverse Landscape of Contemporary Greek Playwriting

This essay makes an attempt to present the different trends in Greek playwriting during the last thirty years. The aim is to examine the dramatic production in the light of the postdramatic developments that define European theatre as a whole. In order to describe the wider context in which contemporary Greek playwriting develops, a brief outline of the major stages defining the theatrical activity of the period is sketched out. Moreover, the changes affecting the status of the dramatic text are discussed with regard to how different playwrights of the older and younger generation perceive their role and status in the field of theatrical practice. In mapping out the different trends, the focus lies on two major directions: on the plays that expand and reformulate the tradition of post-war realism, and on those that introduce and rework principles and elements originating in the field of postdramatic aesthetics