Tabletop Reading: Lysistrata and the great Greek sex-strike

Join us for a reading by James Harpur's version of Aristophanes Comedy Lysistrata and the great Greek sex-strike! Okay then – how would you stop a war – in Palestine or Ukraine, say? Aristophanes, Greece’s wittiest writer, who lived during the bitter fight between Athens and Sparta, came up with a solution: the women of Athens, led by the charismatic Lysistrata, going on a sex-strike. His play became a smash hit, providing a hilarious night out with a serious message about war. James Harpur has produced a sparkling script, full of the wit and wisdom of the original text. So come and join the fun and games at this table-top reading, where women strike a blow for peace by withholding their most powerful of weapons. Will the men crumple under the horrors of abstinence? Or will the women lose their will? (Note: this is an adult comedy with sexual references and innuendo.) James Harpur has published 12 books of poetry and received many awards, including the Michael Hartnett Prize, JG Farrell Prize, and the British National Poetry Competition. He has had a life-long interest in the Classics and translated poetry from Greek and Latin. He is a Visiting Research Fellow and Visiting Writer at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Trinity College Dublin, and a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of the arts. He lives in West Cork.