WHY DIDASKALIA?

Oliver Taplin
Magdalen College
Oxford
OX1 4AU
U.K.


Anyone who has taken an active interest in the reception of Greek tragedy in the late twentieth century will be aware that there is an astounding amount going on--almost more than there 'should' be. As well as teaching and publication in a surprisingly wide range of contexts, which go far beyond orthodox departments and journals of 'Classics', there are reflections and refractions and reincarnations in film, novels, dance, paintings, and, of course, in theatrical productions from every continent of the world. Up until now there has been a frustrating lack of communication about what is happening in the world of contemporary performances and enactments of Greek (and Roman) theatre. People all too often do not know that there is a production that they would like to know about, or even see, until it is too late--or, indeed, they never even become aware of its existence. But this ignorance has largely been, in fact, a question of information technology: there has been no way to collect or to spread the news quickly enough. Didaskalia marks the end of this era of living in a fog.

The primary function of Didaskalia is, then, as I see it, as a 'notice board' for news and information (rather than as yet another place for epideictic publication). At the same time this huge increase in the supply of the 'raw material' about contemporary reception and interpretation should prove a catalyst for more 'mainstream' work.

So we have every reason to be grateful to Sallie Goetsch, and to her collaborators Ian Worthington and Peter Toohey for seizing the moment--the kairos--when the technology is ready for this new enterprise in international communication. They, and Didaskalia, will, however, always be dependent on their network of contacts and correspondents to keep the 'notice board' up-to-date and informative. The value of this project as a shared source depends on the energy of its individual beneficiaries to act as contributors. And the more that people send in hot news, the more incentive there will be for regular, frequent, and prompt circulation.

Oliver Taplin

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