EIRDramaBroadcasts

The proposed research centers on the unexplored field of the dramatic output of the Hellenic National Radio Foundation (EIR) during the military dictatorship (1967- 1974). Media and cultural studies have dealt extensively with theatre, film and television during the Greek junta. The role of radio in shaping national cultural politics though hasn’t yet been studied.

The focus of the proposed project will be on the avant-garde elements of EIR’s dramatic output. Cutting-edge productions of EIR’s Drama Department are already evidenced in my research on radio adaptations of stage plays during the 1950s and 1960s. The project will employ research methods from theatre and radio studies, narratology and cultural studies to document and reconstruct the artistic contribution of EIR’s drama broadcasts.

The aim of this project is to analyze the terms and preconditions of cultural exchange within the restrictions of Greek junta and to examine to what extend was radio play a site for experimentation for EIR’s broadcasters. Taking into focus the relationships between sound and narrative the project will examine the narrative functions of radio sign- systems and the connection between EIR and other media systems of popular culture (film, television, music).

This project aims:

a) to examine the ways in which the established dramatic canon and the emerging ‘radio canon’ interacted with each other in a state of crisis;

b) to offer a deeper understanding into the history of modern Greek drama as well as the history of Greek radio through the lens of radio studies and cultural studies;

c) to bring out unknown artistic creation and collaborations (unperformed plays, original radio plays, translations and adaptations);

d) to analyse the narrative codes of Greek radio plays; and, finally,

e) to revisit the question of reception of individual dramatists and their dramaturgy practices.