Classics to reach out into the community.
The 11th annual Warwick Ancient Drama Festival returns to The University of Warwick on 30th and 31st January presenting Aeschylus’ Agamemnon.
The Department of Classics and Ancient History at The University of Warwick is presenting their eleventh annual Warwick Ancient Drama Festival on 30 and 31 January 2025. This year, the festival presents Aeschylus’ Agamemnon in collaboration with Warwick Classics Society.
The largest annual outreach event of the year for the Department of Classics and Ancient History, will take place at Warwick Arts Centre with around 1,200 members of the public, including an estimated 30 schools from across the UK.
The play is directed and produced by theatre and classics students at the University, and all three productions are accompanied by talks and lectures from scholars of Greek theatre, art and culture.
The dedicated School’s Day on Friday 31st January includes a free matinee performance and is prefaced by two presentations including Dr Emmanuela Bakola with a Welcome and Introduction to Ancient Theatre and Dr Paul Grigsby with The Historical Context of the Oresteia. The afternoon features a range of seminars for schools to choose from. The full programme can be found here.
The performance is followed by a post-performance discussion by the creative team of the play, which includes the Director Fred Brierley, the producer Colleen Baxter-Locker and the stage-manager Stella Omotade-Oyinkansola.
Dr Emmanuela Bakola, Associate Professor in Ancient Greek Language and Literature said,“With our annual productions and talks, we are communicating the latest departmental research on drama to the public. We are also aspiring to make a substantial change to the way Greek theatre is taught in schools around the country.”
Dr Bakola added: “Currently, teachers feel that they do not have up-to-date materials to rely on when teaching the performative dimension of drama. Many classics pupils are not exposed to the experience of theatre, but study the plays as if they were novels. With our annual drama festivals, the videorecorded materials and the bitesized resources we are creating, we are hoping to change this.”
Warwick Ancient Drama Festival takes place on 30th and 31st January at Warwick Arts Centre at The University of Warwick. Find out more about the programme and book your tickets for the evening productions here.
