Lysistrata

This is a must watch Broadway show that makes your fine, terrible, or even boring day, an absolute blast. The Play That Goes Wrong has finally made its way to America and right at the heart of New York City near Times Square at the Lyceum Theatre. Therefore, the experience is a win-win situation for the audience. The Lyceum Theatre’s architecture is astonishing as it is filled with ornaments, I also realized the letter ‘L’ around the theater, but the most interesting fact is that it is a landmark. It has a proscenium stage while the audience is in the orchestra, balcony, or the mezzanine seats, like where I sat, and there is barely any space if you are a tall person. My seat was near the far end of mezzanine, I couldn’t see a part of the left side of the stage, so I found myself bending sideways to see what was going on, but I saw nothing. I found the side stage lights and a side balcony blocking my view and yet I had a great time.

Peace and Harmony is the central theme in the play. Lysistrata is out to end the prolonged war. After consideration on how to accomplish her wishes, and idea finally arises. Lysistrata holds a meeting with all the women to become rebellious and refuse to have sexual relations with the men. During this meeting between all the women, Lysistrata states, “From now on, no more penises for you” (Line 124). The women first do not know how to react as they have not seen their husbands in months. However,

Lysistrata, visibly upset that the women have not appeared, turns to her friend Cleonice, who reassures her that everyone will come, but “it’s not easy...for women to leave the house. One is busy pottering about her husband; another is getting the servant up; a third is putting her child asleep or washing the brat or feeding it” (Lysistrata). The exposition to the drama therefore tells us everything we need to know: women are trying and failing to remove themselves from their traditional housekeeping role. This is in part forced upon them by men, but also in part by their own will: throughout the play, the women place themselves in a lesser role and act unable to control themselves.  When Lysistrata explains her plan to Cleonice, Cleonice responds that “salvation hangs on a poor thread” if women are in charge. It is therefore not only men who enforce the anti-feminist view that women cannot “perform so wise and glorious an achievement” as ending the

The performance hall was designed in a thrust manner, which from a frontal view of the stage, I sat on the left hand side. This designed allowed for an unorthodox relationship between the actor and the audience. The actors would commonly come off the stage and run around the hall, lacing the rows. While running around, they would sometimes sing to one individual or extend their hand for

The women in Lysistrata are portrayed as strong and confident. This is seen in the form of the main character of the play, Lysistrata; who is the first one to propose the idea of withholding sex as a measure to stop the war. She demonstrates the qualities of a true leader as she has a well-planned strategy to get her way: “if we would compel our husbands to make peace, we must refrain”. At first this idea is instantly rejected by the women, but Lysistrata manages to convince them with her words of wisdom. This indicates how strong and perseverant Lysistrata is, and this is displayed by her idea of giving up sex. This is likely to be appreciated by the contemporary Greek audiences, as sex is described as the “most beautiful thing in the world” and Lysistrata is giving it up.

It was seen as irrational to the men that women withheld sex, that their own wives abandon their vice to be heard in a society where there was not a part in democracy for women. Moreover, this situation depicts how serious the women were about having a voice in their government, because a three-decade long war was excessive. Luckily, Lysistrata did not back down from the men and was determined to find a voice amongst the men, in that society, a woman did not belong in the government, because a woman is a housewife and a sex tool. (ADD MORE)

Lysistrata is very passionate about her cause and will not back down. She stands up for what she believes in and inspires others to do the same. Lysistrata is strong willed and does not let any of her gang back out at any point. This is shown when the women are trying to leave the Akropolis to go home: “Woman: 'Oh dear, oh goodness, what shall I do- my flax! I left and forgot to peal it!' Lysistrata: ' Another one. She suffers from unpeeled flax -Get back inside!'” (Lysistrata, page 71). When her fellow cohorts started to wane, she kept them all in line. Lysistrata is overall a very confident and strong woman. Much Ado About Nothing features Beatrice, a very confident, rebellious woman as well. She goes against all the standards of the age

The comedy, Lysistrata, is based almost entirely around the theme of lust. The story tells of a war among the Greeks. Lysistrata, whose name means "she who dissolves armies," is the wife of one of the soldiers. She, along with the other wives, is sick and tired of her

‘skene’ there was a large double door for the actors to make their entrance. Actors could also enter through the ‘parados’ if they were acting as characters from foreign lands or who had just arrived (University Press Inc). There were three areas where the actors could act; the platform in front of the stage building, the orchestra and the roof of the stage building. The roof of the stage building was often

Lysistrata takes the position of leader in her relationships with other women; she encourages her followers to fight for the betterment of their polis; thus, she

“Lysistrata” is a tale which is centered around an Athenian woman named Lysistrata and her comrades who have taken control of the Acropolis in Athens. Lysistrata explains to the old men how the women have seized the Acropolis to keep men from using the money to make war and to keep dishonest officials from stealing the money. The opening scene of “Lysistrata” enacts the stereotypical and traditional characterization of women in Greece and also distances Lysistrata from this overused expression, housewife character. The audience is met with a woman, Lysistrata, who is furious with the other women from her country because they have not come to discuss war with her. The basic premise of the play is, Lysistrata coming up with a plan to put an

“Lysistrata” is a story that is filled with conflict. Due to this, another title that would fit the story of “Lysistrata” is “The Struggle.”

Lysistrata's role and her powers of manipulation are very similar to those of Medea. Lysistrata is an Athenian woman who is interested in ending the Peloponessian War and also is upset with the treatment of women in Athens. Lysistrata gathers the women of Sparta and Athens together to solve these problems and uses the art of manipulation to find success and power in her journey. Lysistrata develops a plan to deny sex to the men of Greece and take over the Acropolis, which is the heart of Athenian commerce until they stop the war. She is able to manipulate the women of Sparta and

Lysistrata is a play written by a man named Aristophanes around 400 B.C.E. in Athens Greece. Aristophanes, a contemporary of the Greek philosopher Socrates, was the last and greatest of the Old Attic comedians. He wrote many plays, however, only eleven of his plays have survived until today. Lysistrata, being one of these plays, is a is an extremely bawdy anti-war fantasy. Aristophanes wrote this play during a time when Athens was undergoing a crisis with its social attitudes. Therefor, this comedy shows sympathy and longing for the return of peace. Lysistrata is all about the women of Athens and Sparta, led by a woman named Lysistrata, coming together and trying to force the men at war against each other to return to peace by

Aristophanes paved the way for comedy and how it would be viewed by citizens in ancient Greece. By incorporating satire and comedy, Aristophanes portrayed the social and political climate of the time. More specifically, Lysistrata, a play by Aristophanes, gives insight into the role women have in the Athenian society. The theme of gender roles in the play, Lysistrata, has evolved to parallel the social norm of feminism by women today. Lysistrata is a satirical comedy and portrays the women are at odds with man regarding several different matters, most notably the waging war on itself. The role Aristophanes embellishes within the characters are reversed between man and woman. The women, who were largely subservient to the needs and whims of