CUP (2017) h/b 563pp £110 (ISBN 9781107152311)
R.’s intention in this extremely scholarly book is to ‘understand what happened between audiences and actors in Latium in the 200s BC.’ She is concerned with the palliatae, mostly the plays of Plautus, initially conjuring a vision of a troupe of comic actors travelling with a cart and donkey through the settlements of war-torn Italy. The actors would have been slaves, freedmen or the low-born and their presence would have reminded those in the audience of the fluidity of boundaries between slave and free in these troubled times. R. incorporates a wealth of quotations from primary sources (all presented in both Latin and English) and a vast array of references to modern critical studies. The book is divided into two parts: ‘What was given’ and ‘What was desired’ and includes two appendices, one giving plot summaries of Plautus’ plays, a very comprehensive bibliography, extensive footnotes and three indices.
The premise of the first part is that characters/people form their identity in reaction to ‘the hand they have been dealt’. R. firmly rejects the idea that Plautus’ characters are just stock types taken from Greek New Comedy. She focuses on specific themes such as names (including useful tables), beatings, sexual abuse, hunger, debt and shame. Jokes were very much about life at the bottom of the heap, but would have also resonated with those in the audience who were higher up the scale. R. does not believe that actors stuck to a written text; they would also have improvised and engaged in lively exchanges with the audience. She writes about stock elements, for example: cheerleading, calling for help from the audience and engaging in fast-paced verbal duelling with other characters.
The second part discusses how the plays express the desires of the people at the bottom of the social order. She speaks of fantasy elements and provides an erudite examination of common themes such as getting even, putting owners down, gaining status, manumission, escape and family reunions.
R. is confident that slaves did attend the theatre and that the early palliatae were shaped by slave’s experiences. The actors ‘were playing to an audience that had a lot to be angry about, an audience that had suffered greatly … (in) the ravaged landscape of Italy in the 200s.’ She concludes that: ‘All comedy begins with anger.’
This tome is packed with scholarship and detailed analysis. It is a rewarding read for those with a deep interest in palliatae and slavery.
Marion Gibbs