Kaloi k'Agathoi
Encyclopedia
Kaloi k'Agathoi is a theatre company specialising in Classical drama. It is based in Herefordshire
and operates throughout the UK. The company stages original adaptations of Ancient Greek
plays, and has developed an educational programme to promote and foster the teaching of Classical dramatic texts through drama. Improvisation is a key feature of Kaloi k'Agathoi performances, facilitating interactivity and enabling educational workshops to be tailored easily and effectively. In August 2009 Kaloi k'Agathoi performed their version of Agamemnon and Daedalus and Icarus
for Three Choirs Plus, part of the Three Choirs Festival
.
As well as working with a diversity of artists, Kaloi k'Agathoi places an emphasis on community involvement in order to introduce new audiences to Classical theatre: in January 2007 it became a registered Community Interest Company
.
(καλοι κ'αγαθοι), and is literally translated as "The Beautiful and the Good". The term is difficult to translate accurately, however, as it is the term used for ancient Athenian society, so "the Beautiful and the Good" could be said to lose this connoitation. Modern translations might be the "It-crowd" or "A-list
ers", but these too fail to convey the full meaning of the phrase as it would have been interpreted in Ancient Athens.
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
and operates throughout the UK. The company stages original adaptations of Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
plays, and has developed an educational programme to promote and foster the teaching of Classical dramatic texts through drama. Improvisation is a key feature of Kaloi k'Agathoi performances, facilitating interactivity and enabling educational workshops to be tailored easily and effectively. In August 2009 Kaloi k'Agathoi performed their version of Agamemnon and Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artisan.-Family:...
for Three Choirs Plus, part of the Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
.
As well as working with a diversity of artists, Kaloi k'Agathoi places an emphasis on community involvement in order to introduce new audiences to Classical theatre: in January 2007 it became a registered Community Interest Company
Community interest company
A community interest company is a new type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies Act 2004, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good...
.
The name
Kaloi k'Agathoi is properly written in Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
(καλοι κ'αγαθοι), and is literally translated as "The Beautiful and the Good". The term is difficult to translate accurately, however, as it is the term used for ancient Athenian society, so "the Beautiful and the Good" could be said to lose this connoitation. Modern translations might be the "It-crowd" or "A-list
A-list
A-list is a term that alludes to major movie stars, or the most bankable in the Hollywood film industry.The A-list is part of a larger guide called The Hot List that has become an industry-standard guide in Hollywood...
ers", but these too fail to convey the full meaning of the phrase as it would have been interpreted in Ancient Athens.
Plays
- 2002 - EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' Elektra - 2002 - AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' Frogs - 2003 - MenanderMenanderMenander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
's Dyskolos ('The Old Git') - 2004 - EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' Hippolytus - 2005 - EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' Medea and Bacchae - 2006 - SophoclesSophoclesSophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
' Philoctetes - 2007 - AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' Clouds - 2009 - AeschylusAeschylusAeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
' Agamemnon