Warwick Ancient Drama Festival

Today was a special day for the Classics department. For those who have read my previous blogs, today was the Ancient Drama Festival. Previously, I have been a member of the cast of the play that the Classics society produces. This year, I made the decision to help out as an ambassador and assist in guiding and talking to the visiting students.

Usually, the day is held on campus and the performance is at the Warwick Arts Centre. This year we upgraded to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry! Schools from all over the country came to learn about the world of the Ancient Theatre. This year the key focus was thinking about Euripides’ play Medea. Personally, this is my favourite Greek play, simply because I love the way the role of women and ‘femininity’ is stretched and tested throughout the play.

First, we had a general introduction about the nature, origins and historical background of Ancient Greek Theatre and then a quick overview of the plot. The difficult thing about Greek Theatre is that the mythological context is essential in order to grasp the storyline and the nature of the characters. Having the opportunity to listen to different lectures and close readings of the original text is very special. What I loved the most was that teachers, school pupils, university students were all contributing to the different discussions. This revealed that although everyone in the room was at different stages of their academic journey, everyone could still interpret the text in their own way and bring unique observations and refreshing ways of engaging with the play. I learnt a lot from listening to others and bringing their own discussions from their classes to this environment. It made me remember how much I loved being at school and learning about the classical world.

The play itself was amazing, the use of the chorus was my personal favourite. There was a strong sense of unison and they spoke with a strong rhythm. Music accompanied them and added to the atmosphere of the tragedy and the costumes were great! Every member of the chorus had their own identity while being part of the community of Corinth.

Helping out at things like this is very important, not only to make your CV look amazing and how that you do extracurricular stuff etc blah blah blah. But it is a chance to enjoy your subject and remind you why it is that you love it. Recently, I have found my work to be quite tedious and I started to become demotivated. But today was a chance to remind me exactly why I love my subject and why it is important to study. I need to continue focusing on creating good work and enjoying my books because I will not have the chance to study these books and texts in this way again.

So if you are feeling the same, go out there and find a way to remind yourself why it is that you worked so hard to get in this position and have this opportunity to study a subject that you love. Honestly, it will give you a new sense of energy and drive. Enjoy the rest of the term guys! 🙂