The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus

Last updated

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus
Written by Tony Harrison
Characters Apollo, Silenus, Hermes, Bernard Grenfell, Arthur Hunt, Kyllene, Satyrs
Date premiered12 July 1988
Place premiered Delphi, Greece
Original languageEnglish
Subject Ichneutae
Genre Satyr play
Setting Oxyrhynchus, Oxford, Ancient Greece

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus is a 1990 play by English poet and playwright Tony Harrison. [1] [2] It is partially based on Ichneutae , a satyr play by the fifth-century BC Athenian dramatist Sophocles, which was found in fragments at the Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

In addition to its classical content, Harrison's play is also a dramatised account of the discovery of the papyrus fragments containing Sophocles' play by Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt. [6] The play had a one-performance première on 12 July 1988 in the ancient stadium of Delphi, [7] Greece with a follow-up performance at the Royal National Theatre two years later on 27 March 1990. [8] [9] [10] [11] The 1988 premiere at Delphi starred Jack Shepherd as Grenfell, Barrie Rutter as Hunt and Juliet Stevenson in the role of the mountain nymph Kyllene. [12] No filming was allowed during the 1988 performance. [13] Before appearing on the stage in London the play also had a "homecoming" performance at Salt's Mill, a former textile mill, at Saltaire, Bradford. Additional performances were held at the Wharf Theatre, in Sydney, Australia in 1992 and the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 1998. In January 2017 after nearly 30 years since first opening in London it returned to the Finborough Theatre. [14]

Historical background

Fragment of the Ichneutae papyrus on which Harrison's play is based P.Oxy. IX 1174 col. iv-v.jpg
Fragment of the Ichneutae papyrus on which Harrison's play is based

Harrison's play is partially based on the events surrounding the discovery of the ancient papyrus found at Oxyrhynchus containing fragments of Ichneutae , a satyr play by the fifth-century Athenian dramatist Sophocles, which was found in fragments at Oxyrhynchus, an Egyptian city where an archaeological site was discovered considered one of the most important ever found. The papyrus fragments containing the ancient play were found by Oxford dons Grenfell and Hunt. Harrison then takes some of the events surrounding their discovery and weaves a play involving the two British archaeologists in a modern version of the classic play. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Plot

The play starts with the two archaeologists shown doing excavations in situ at Oxyrhynchus in 1907. While both are depicted in the play deeply involved with their work, Apollo intervenes and commands Grenfell, in rhyming verses, to find an ancient play where the God plays a prominent part: [8]

He heard Apollo yammering for scraps and tatters
of a lost play of Sophocles: The Tracking Satyrs.
"Grenfell, Hunt!" he heard the voice abjure.
"Prevent Apollo's play becoming mere manure."
Night and day the voice went: "Grenfell, Bernard Pyne,
hunt for my papyrus. This order is divine!"

Grenfell and Hunt on the site of the excavations. Harrison's play features them as central characters. Grenfell-hunt-1896.jpg
Grenfell and Hunt on the site of the excavations. Harrison's play features them as central characters.

The two dons are shown in the play to feverishly search for the fragments and they finally find them. Grenfell, in particular, is shown as possessed by Apollo. After their excavations, the Oxyrhynchus papyri, including those with the Sophoclean play, are packed in wooden crates and sent to Oxford for further study. Upon arrival at Oxford, the crates open up and a satyr chorus springs from inside, clogging. [2] [8] [15] [16]

A metamorphosis then happens. Grenfell becomes the Greek god Apollo while Hunt turns into Silenus, the leader of the satyrs. The characters then start following Sophocles' play and begin looking for Apollo's missing cattle. Apollo strikes a bargain with the satyrs according to which the satyrs will become rich and free if they find his cattle. [8]

The satyrs finally find the cattle only to discover that the cows are also keeping amongst them baby Hermes who although an infant has just invented the lyre. Apollo is happy now that his cattle have been found and keeps his end of the bargain by granting the satyrs the riches and freedom he had promised them. However the satyrs also want to keep the newly discovered lyre but Apollo rejects that idea telling them that satyrs do not deserve such a highly artistic instrument and advises them that they should instead concentrate on low-level art. [8]

The satyrs are very unhappy and they become even more so since the gold bars that they received from Apollo have turned into gold leaf-covered boomboxes blaring a music they cannot even dance to. Having lost their chance to get involved in "High Art" the satyrs rebel and 2500 years later they become hooligans coming out of the crates and destroying the very papyrus to which they owe their existence in modern times. [8]

In the Delphi performance the satyrs destroy the backdrop papyrus screens of the play and are depicted playing a soccer match with a ball fashioned out of the Ichneutae papyrus. [8] In the National Theatre performance Silenus is shown destroying the physical papyrus screen which functions as the backdrop of the theatrical play and commenting that the papyrus "could be put to better use as bedding material for the homeless of London's South Bank". [8]

Reception and analysis

Richard Eyre calls The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, which features satyrs jumping out of box crates clog dancing, "among the five most imaginative pieces of drama in the 90s". Jocelyn Herbert, famous designer of the British theatrical scene, comments that Harrison is aware of the dramatic visual impact of his ideas: "The idea of satyrs jumping out of boxes in Trackers is wonderful for the stage. Some writers just write and have little idea what it will look like, but Tony always knows exactly what he wants." [2]

Edith Hall has written that she is convinced that Harrison's 1998 film-poem Prometheus is Harrison's "most brilliant artwork, with the possible exception of his stage play The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus". [17]

Punch magazine writes that "Despite its jawbreaking title, The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus is a very merry and mischievous play, which turns serious and even harrowing, not through any visual violence but in the unnerving poetry of Tony Harrison". [18]

Having been brought back to life through the rediscovered papyri the characters voice their grief at their neglected condition. Apollo laments through verse: [6]

Covered in rubbish! But what's much worse is
being resurrected with scarcely half my verses.
Converted into dust and bookworm excreta
riddled lines with just a ghost of their metre.

In a critique contained in the book Tragedy in Transition it is mentioned that Harrison's play with its chaotic, lively, dynamic and sometimes fragmented verses, to match the condition of the papyri, contrasts with the stilted coverage of classics during the Edwardian era. In that sense Harrison may be pointing toward a neoclassicism which could indicate to a complacent and ignorant modern society that there are things which cannot be "assimilated". Harrison uses one of the satyrs in his work to hint that the classical world may be neglected in the modern era: [6]

You, gormless grovelling sod
being so servile to that sodding god
got us stuck here in Great bloody Britain
where nowt about satyrs'll ever get written

The Routledge Companion to Directors' Shakespeare quotes Harrison as saying that without the satyr plays we are missing the whole picture of the Greek imagination as applied to ancient Greek tragedy and its ability to use the satyr plays as a vehicle to absorb the impact of the tragic events and to not be defeated by them. In that sense, Harrison continues, the satyr plays precipitated a "spirit of celebration" into the dramatic festival which also caused a "release into the worship of Dionysus". [9] According to the same book, with his Trackers, Harrison wants to criticise the tendency of the elitists and right-wing politicians to divide art and society along refined and popular lines, represented by separate Apollonian and Dionysiac camps. [9]

Harrison made a point against this artificial segregation by choosing a third venue for the performance of his play between Delphi and London; he chose an abandoned textile mill in Salt's Mill, Bradford, as a "homecoming" for his play. Harrison said that he chose Salt's Mill as a venue because the "ghosts of the past were strong" in that place and it was part of his "slow burning revenge" against his teacher who "denied him the opportunity to recite poetry or take part in plays because of his accent". He also mentioned that clogging "geared the satyrs into action", because that dance is "one of the principal expressions of the rhythm of life". [9]

In A Companion to Sophocles Harrison's work is cited as an example of bidirectional influence, [19] in that the ancient play influenced Harrison's work and in turn Harrison's play is shown to have influenced the modern perception of Sophocles and his works. According to the book, the papyrus is used as the stage background of Harrison's play both at the Delphi performance and in London at the Olivier Theatre. Its physical presence as a stage backdrop was used as a constant reference to the origin of the characters. It also functions as a visual device and a highly visible reminder of the barrier between the world of high art and that of the hooligans and the homeless. [8]

T. P. Wiseman remarks that Harrison has "opened up the possibilities" of an ancient Greek play which was until recently the exclusive domain of scholars specialising in the classics. According to Wiseman, Harrison's achievement is mirrored by the scene in his play when a chorus of satyrs jumps out of the papyrus crates. [20]

Mary Beard writes that Harrison through his play focuses on the reasons for searching and studying the classics. Hunt is depicted as "down-to-earth", searching for real-life records registering problems such as the desperate pleas of the homeless of that era. But Grenfell is shown as keenly searching for fragments of ancient poetry. According to Beard, Harrison uses this dichotomy to pose a question as to the value and purpose the study of classics has for the modern world; it can be used as a source of information regarding the power politics of the ancient world with its social deprivations, slavery and misogyny or it can be studied for the value of the classical literature that can "still engage and inspire". [21]

Recent adaptations

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus was performed for the first time in 30 years at the Finborough Theatre in January 2017. It was directed by Jimmy Walters in a joint venture with his company Proud Haddock and Neil McPherson at the Finborough Theatre. The production received excellent reviews with The Guardian writing "there is nothing limp about Jimmy Walters' production". [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satyr play</span> Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy

The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is strong; satyr plays were written by tragedians, and satyr plays were performed in the Dionysian festival following the performance of a group of three tragedies. The satyr play's mythological-heroic stories and the style of language are similar to that of the tragedies. Its connection with comedy is also significant – it has similar plots, titles, themes, characters, and happy endings. The remarkable feature of the satyr play is the chorus of satyrs, with their costumes that focus on the phallus, and with their language, which uses wordplay, sexual innuendos, references to breasts, farting, erections, and other references that do not occur in tragedy. As Mark Griffith points out, the satyr play was "not merely a deeply traditional Dionysiac ritual, but also generally accepted as the most appropriate and satisfying conclusion to the city’s most complex and prestigious cultural event of the year."

The Oxyrhynchus hymn is the earliest known manuscript of a Christian Greek hymn to contain both lyrics and musical notation. The papyrus on which the hymn was written dates from around the end of the 3rd century AD. It is on Papyrus 1786 of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, now kept at the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library, Oxford. The manuscript was discovered in 1918 in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and later published in 1922.

<i>Ichneutae</i> Fragmentary satyr play by Sophocles

The Ichneutae, also known as the Searchers, Trackers or Tracking Satyrs, is a fragmentary satyr play by the fifth-century BC Athenian dramatist Sophocles. Three nondescript quotations in ancient authors were all that was known of the play until 1912, when the extensive remains of a second-century CE papyrus roll of the Ichneutae were published among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. With more than four hundred lines surviving in their entirety or in part, the Ichneutae is now the best preserved ancient satyr play after Euripides' Cyclops, the only fully extant example of the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxyrhynchus</span> City in Ptolemaic/Roman Egypt

Oxyrhynchus, also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa, is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, the area around Oxyrhynchus has been excavated almost continually, yielding an enormous collection of papyrus texts dating from the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. They also include a few vellum manuscripts, and more recent Arabic manuscripts on paper

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxyrhynchus Papyri</span> Manuscript fragments from 32BC–640AD found in an Egyptian rubbish dump

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by papyrologists Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 405</span>

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 405 is a fragment from a copy dating to c. 200 CE of the early Christian work Against Heresies, written by Irenaeus of Lyon around 180 CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 8</span> Fragment of Greek poetry from around 100 CE

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 8 is a fragment of Greek hexameter poetry. The dialect is a mixture of Aeolic and Doric. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the first or second century. It is housed in the Houghton Library, Harvard University, with the catalogue number SM2211. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 22 contains fragments of the Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles, written in Greek. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the fifth century. It is housed in the British Library. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 29</span> Fragment of the second book of the Elements by Euclid

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 29 is a fragment of the second book of the Elements of Euclid in Greek. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The fragment was originally dated to the end of the third century or the beginning of the fourth century, although more recent scholarship suggests a date of 75–125 CE. It is housed in the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 36 contains customs regulations by an unknown author, written in Greek. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the second or the early third century. It is housed in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 59 is a letter announcing the appointment of a delegate to the praefect's court in Alexandria, written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The document was written on 11 February 292. Currently it is housed in the British Library (753). The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 103 is a lease of some land, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on a sheet of papyrus. The document was written on 13 October 316. Currently it is housed in the British Museum (767) in London.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 124 is a student's composition, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written in the 3rd century. Currently it is housed in the library of Winchester College in Winchester.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 134 is the second in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a receipt from a stonemason given to Flavius. It is written in Greek and was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 9 June 569. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10053) in Cairo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 221</span>

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 221 contains Homeric scholia by an unknown author, written in Greek. It was discovered in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a roll. It is dated to the second century. Frederic G. Kenyon dated it to the first century or the first half of the second century. Currently it is housed in the British Library in London.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 228 is a fragment of the Laches, a dialogue of Plato, written in Greek. It was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a roll. It is dated to the second century. It is housed in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 267 is a fragment of an Agreement of Marriage in Greek. It was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It is dated to 22 May 37. Currently it is housed in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 282</span>

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 282 is a fragment of a Complaint against a Wife, in Greek. It was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript, written on papyrus in the form of a sheet, is dated between 26 January 29 – 22 May 37. It is housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of the Yale University in New Haven.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 581 is a papyrus fragment written in Ancient Greek, apparently recording the sale of a slave girl. Dating from 29 August 99 AD, P. Oxy. 581 was discovered, alongside hundreds of other papyri, by Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt while excavating an ancient landfill at Oxyrhynchus in modern Egypt. The document's contents were published by the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1898, which also secured its donation to University College, Dundee, later the University of Dundee, in 1903 – where it still resides. Measuring 6.3 x 14.7 cm and consisting of 17 lines of text, the artifact represents the conclusion of a longer record, although the beginning of the papyrus was lost before it was found. P. Oxy. 581 has received a modest amount of scholarly attention, most recently and completely in a 2009 translation by classicist Amin Benaissa of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

In Greek mythology, Cyllene, also spelled Kyllene, is the Naiad or Oread nymph and the personification of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, the region in Greece where the god of travelers and shepherds Hermes was born and brought up. Cyllene is said to have been Hermes' nurse while he was growing up.

References

  1. ↑ Peter Burian (2010). The Complete Euripides:Volume V: Medea and Other Plays. Oxford University Press. p. 395. ISBN   978-0-19-983092-3.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Guardian Profile: Tony Harrison Man of mysteries". The Guardian. 1 April 2000. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 Martin Banham (13 May 2004). A History of Theatre in Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 19. ISBN   978-1-139-45149-9.
  4. 1 2 Peter France (2000). "The" Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation . Oxford University Press. pp.  363–. ISBN   978-0-19-818359-4 . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford dictionary of literary terms. Oxford University Press. pp. 299–300. ISBN   978-0-19-920827-2.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Sarah Annes Brown; Catherine Silverstone (2008). Tragedy in Transition. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 136–137. ISBN   978-0-470-69130-4.
  7. ↑ Jefferson Hunter (2010). English Filming, English Writing. Indiana University Press. p. 282. ISBN   978-0-253-00414-7.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kirk Ormand (2012). A Companion to Sophocles. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 557–569. ISBN   978-1-4051-8726-8.
  9. 1 2 3 4 John Russell Brown (2010). The Routledge Companion to Directors' Shakespeare. Taylor & Francis. p. 390. ISBN   978-0-203-93252-0.
  10. ↑ Eurípides (2003). Heracles and Other Plays. Oxford University Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN   978-0-19-283259-7.
  11. ↑ Dirk Obbink; Richard Rutherford (2011). Culture in Pieces: Essays on Ancient Texts in Honour of Peter Parsons. Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-19-929201-1.
  12. ↑ "Venue Ancient Stadium of Delphi, Greece". Performance Database and Archive Catalogue. National Theatre. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  13. ↑ Oliver Taplin (1990). Greek fire. Cape. p. 26. ISBN   978-0-224-02683-3. Here on 12 July 1988 the World Premiere of Tony Harrison's play The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus was mounted, a single performance at which all filming was forbidden...
  14. ↑ "The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, the Delphi text (1990)". APGRD.
  15. ↑ T. P. Wiseman (2006). Classics in Progress: Essays on Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-19-726323-5.
  16. ↑ Martin Banham (21 September 1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre . Cambridge University Press. pp.  474–. ISBN   978-0-521-43437-9 . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Edith Hall. "Tony Harrison's Prometheus: A View from the Left" (PDF).
  18. ↑ Punch. Vol. 298. April 1990. p. 39.
  19. ↑ Ormand (2013). "Tony Harrison'sThe Trackers of Oxyrhynchus". A Companion to Sophocles: Summary. pp. 557–571. doi:10.1002/9781118350508.ch37. ISBN   9781118350508.
  20. ↑ T. P. Wiseman (2006). Classics in Progress: Essays on Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press. pp. 10–12. ISBN   978-0-19-726323-5.
  21. ↑ Jonathan Bate (2011). The Public Value of the Humanities. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 31–34. ISBN   978-1-84966-063-1.
  22. ↑ Billington, Michael (6 January 2017). "The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus review – sing-along-a Sophocles". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 January 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.