Two-Part Plays

[jacobsnchz14]

Thinking about Angels/America, Cursed Child, Inheritance, etc. and was wondering if there were any other plays to consider that were multi-part. Not in the Dolls House and Part 2 vein, but you know.

[JBroadway]

Wolf Hall
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
Coast of Utopia (three parts)

Going back to Shakespeare:

Henry IV
Henry VI (three parts)

And going back EVEN further:

The Oresteia

[mikey2573]

I think Horton Foote's "Orphans Home Cycle" was in three parts. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Does The Norman Conquests count?

[darquegk]

The official nonmusical Lord of the Rings is a three-play cycle. It rarely gets done because of licensing issues.

[Alex Kulak2]

The Kentucky Cycle is nine one-acts that are performed over the course of two days.

Mourning Becomes Electra is a three-play cycle.

Strange Interlude is often performed in two parts.

Taylor Mac said Hir and Gary are two parts of a four part cycle that will one day be performed in an all day marathon, like the Festival of Dionysus

[GavestonPS]

JBroadway said: "...The Oresteia"

J, do we know whether THE ORESTEIA was originally performed as all-three-plays in one festival? (As opposed to Sophocles' Theban cycle--OEDIPUS, ANTIGONE, OEDIPUS AT COLONUS--where we know each play was written and performed separately (and out of order, ANTIGONE appearing first) over a period of decades.)

I honestly can't recall. My guess is not, since most of the Dionysian festivals seemed to have grouped three tragedies and one satyr play that shared a common theme or character rather than a continuous plot.

[JBroadway]

@Geveston: According to my Greek-obsessed Theatre Lit professor, they were in fact performed all in one day. 

[GavestonPS]

JBroadway said: "@Geveston: According to my Greek-obsessed Theatre Lit professor, they were in fact performed all in one day."

Thanks, J. I trust your professor's word. Moreover, here is Wiki on the subject:

"The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. Oresteia originally included a satyr play, Proteus, following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of Proteus has been lost."

I'm embarrassed I didn't remember this. I taught the ORESTEIA for years. Aside from OEDIPUS and ANTIGONE, they are my favorite Greek plays.

[imeldasturn]

Mike Poulton's adaptation of Robert Harris's Cicero trilogy for the RSC is in two parts.

Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great