The Kaisers of Carnuntum

Specifically written to be set in the remains of Marcus Aurelius's Roman stadium at Carnuntum, 40 kilometres outside Vienna, the verse play 'The Kaisers of Carnuntum' was to have only two performances, in the summer of 1995. The extravagant logistics of the work - which required real lions, tigers and bears - were so complicated that the first time it could be put together was at the dress rehearsal the evening before the first performance. The play neatly encapsulates much of Harrison's view of life and art. It was set in the classical world and drew on it to expose the brutality of the Romans as opposed to Harrison's beloved Greeks.