[0] 10 1/2 hours of triumphant Greek tragedy.

10 1/2 hours of triumphant Greek tragedy Yukiko Kishinami Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri THE GREEKS Bunkamura Theater Cocoon, Tokyo, Sept. 17 Director Yukio Ninagawa's The Greeks may just be the theatrical event of the year, and not only because of its inordinate length. The marathon play--it lasts 10-1/2 hours including breaks--succeeded in mesmerizing the audience at Bunkamura Theater Cocoon, with a star-studded cast and stunning visual magic. The play is based on no less than nine Greek tragedies--seven by Euripides and one apiece by Aeschylus and Sophocles--plus a bit of Homer thrown in for good measure. Scriptwriters John Barton and Kenneth Cavander combine the separate stories together to tell the turbulent history of an accursed royal lineage in ancient Greece at the time of Trojan War. The play in three parts, titled "The War," "The Murder" and "The Gods," was premiered in 1980 in Britain by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The work's …