The humour in Mariana Carr's 1996 play, "Portia Coughlan" richly emphasizes the poignant story of harrowing tragedy because it is humour that humans rely on when the depth of tragedy runs overbearingly deep. It is through these extremes in emotions that the audience can truly experience second-ha...

The plays in ancient Greece were made up of several genres. One of these genres was comedy. Comedy came from two main factors, the major one being known as the "Choral Element" which has ceremonies to encourage fertility at the Festival of Dionysus. The second influence was from Sicilia...

Tragedy was performed in Athens at the annual festival of Dionysus, the Great, or the City, Dionysia in late March. Competition was held on three successive mornings of the festival. Three tragic poets, who had been selected earlier in the year, each presented a tetralogy, consisting of three traged...

Tragedy is, and always has been, a popular form of play, used by Shakespeare in his plays and the ancient Greeks. There is something about the wonderful horror of seeing another suffer that has always fascinated people through time, and it is this fascination that tragedies play upon. That is not al...

There are likely as many similarities between these two plays as there are dramatic differences. And yet, both are extremely well- written, both allow the audience to peek into the living rooms and lives of interesting people, and both also put a microscope on socie...