Karolos Koun and American Drama (1946-1965): An Overview

Abstract

Τhe present article examines the connection between the Greek stage director Karolos Koun and his staging of modern American drama. Specifically, it investigates the systematic incorporation of plays by writers such as Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller into the repertoire of Koun’s Art Theater from the Greek Civil War Era to the Cold War period. The aesthetic and ideological choices of the director are placed within the historical and sociopolitical context of Greece, while the connotations of American cultural politics are also taken into consideration. As the article illustrates, Koun used American Realism in order to stage a reflection of global modernity in his locality during the tumultuous years of post-war Greece.