Sophocles after 9/11: from "Trachiniae" to Martin Crimp's "Cruel and Tender"

Abstract

This article analyses one of the most important of modern Sophocles’ rewritings: Cruel and Tender (2004) by Martin Crimp, based on the Trachiniae. After giving some information about the genesis of the drama and the aim of the author, this essay explores the plot of Crimp’s work, focusing on the relationship with Sophocles’ model, fluctuating between structural and textual analogies, and many deep transformations in the characters and in the themes (starting from Heracles), that make this text non just a faithful revival of a classical masterpiece, but an original and vital work which brings Sophocles’ material into the 20th century and represents a great example of the theatre in the age of the “war on terror”.