"Ancient Theater and the Cinema" through April 5, 2020 at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida


"Ancient Theater and the Cinema" through April 5, 2020 at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Ancient Theater and the Cinema is the first exhibition to combine ancient objects with imagery of ancient Greek theater and modern movie stills inspired by Greek plays and mythology. The dialogue between ancient and contemporary images displays the continuity of Greek theater across nearly two and a half millennia, demonstrating its enduring legacy and profound influence. Theatrical performances were widely popular in ancient Greece. Theater was an Athenian invention and Athenian playwrights were celebrities far beyond Athens. A key feature of an ancient Greek city-state (polis) was a theater, at which tragic and comic plays were staged during multi-day festivals. The performances developed from choral song and dance sacred to Dionysus, the god of wine and the theater. This exhibition includes ancient ceramics and Greek sculpture as well as Tampa collector William Knight Zewadski's extensive collection of classically-themed movie stills, that he gifted to the University of South Florida Tampa Library.
For video: https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/entertainment/2020/01/14/on-the-town--5-things-to-know-about--ancient-theater-and-the-cinema-#



Image: A classic still of Kirk Douglas as Ulysses courtesy of the museum.

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