Abstract

This chapter analyses two Chilean plays, Filoctetes, la herida y el arco (2004) a rewriting of Sophocles’ Philoctetes, and Diarrea (2002) as adaptation of Euripides’ Medea. For this purpose, we describe the political context of transition to democracy in Chile and explains how the theatre elaborated the national memory and her social and political wounds. Our aim is threefold: first, we focus on the relation between the ancient source text and its modern reworking and discuss the departures of the latter in terms of plot, as well as the use of self-reference and self-consciousness as reflexive strategies. Second, we illustrate with examples how the contemporary reality informs the adaptations and how the ancient plots are transformed by modern popular culture. Finally, we demonstrate how the two plays under consideration address the issue of memory.