Drama, at its core, is about telling stories and communicating with an audience – thereby bringing people together in the shared experience of theatre. The Warwick Ancient Drama Festival has, for many years, offered the perfect platform to bring that enjoyment to young classicists, and expose them to ancient theatre on a level – and in a language – they can understand.
The decision to perform the plays as modern adaptations in English, bridges the gap between ancient references and a modern audience. Jokes are updated, names changed, but the core narrative and themes of the play experience no ‘dumbing-down’ or simplification.
At Warwick, we believe that classics should be a fun, exciting, and collective experience. Next January, we’ll be performing Aristophanes’ comedy Ecclesiazusae or Assemblywomen. Written in 391 BCE, it shows the women of Athens taking control of the government, bringing shocking reforms resulting in bizarre events. Ancient and modern combine to offer audiences access to a play from the ancient world, with jokes they can understand, while also considering broader themes of gender, politics, and obscenity.
The production team – including an elected producer and director who lead the show – is entirely made up of students. Discussions start with a textual analysis of Aristophanes’ Assemblywomen. With the help of academics from the department, the production team establish the key themes to focus on and how these can be adapted for audiences with no prior knowledge of the play. Decisions on the nature of the costumes and the best way to perform the newly created songs, composed specially for our production, provide an exciting chance for students to have creative input.
For students like me, it’s great fun with hard academic benefits and an invaluable opportunity to meet others – both in the department and outside of it. It provides a unique opportunity to study the play, not only by reading it but by engaging with the text creatively. Giving our own interpretations and sharing them, not only with each other, but with a wider audience of students, friends, and family, brings new excitement to the ancient drama.
The department’s passion for classics outreach and engagement is never far from our minds. With a specific ‘Schools’ Performance’ (already sold out), and lectures from our own academics, as well as guest speakers, the Warwick Ancient Drama Festival is about more than just our production. It situates the play in its academic context with the accompanying talks and engages with the major debates in academia today.
It’s an enjoyable event for everyone involved; a highlight of the year that reflects the joy and excitement around classics.
Performances of the Assemblywomen will take place at the Warwick Arts Centre on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January 2023.
The performance on Thursday will be preceded by a public lecture given by Xavier Buxton on ‘The Domestication of the Polis in Aristophanes’ followed by a Q&A.
Tickets for the Thursday performance and lecture, and the Friday evening performance, priced at £6, are on sale now on the Warwick Arts Centre website. To find out more about the Warwick Ancient Drama Festival, visit our website.
Isabella Vaughan is a second-year classical civilisation student at the University of Warwick and the stage manager for the production of Assemblywomen. If you have any questions for Isabella, please feel free to email at [email protected].