Last week, the Classics and Drama departments took 18 students of Latin, Greek, Classical Civilisation and Drama to go and see the Oxford Greek Play, which this year was Euripides’ Medea.
The Oxford Greek Play, whose first production took place in 1880, is a student-run triennial event supported by the Oxford University Classical Drama Society (OUCDS) and the Oxford Playhouse.
The play was performed partly in English and partly in Ancient Greek, with surtitles, with the audience promised a new translation and modern interpretation by the creative team. Having parts in Ancient Greek gave students the opportunity to imagine what the play would originally have sounded like when being performed.
Upper Sixth student Gabriella Thomas said, “Theatre trips are always the highlight of the week and mixing with the Drama department to see Medea was no exception. It was a great opportunity to see parts of the play performed in the original Greek and listening to the rhythmic chanting of the chorus was a particular highlight, alongside discussing the impact of the choices made in the performance and our own interpretations on the way back to school.”
The group also took the chance to meet up with some of last year’s leavers, Hugh Bishop and Alice Bradshaw. Hugh is studying Classics and Alice is studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford and were keen to share tales of student life.
What drives a mother to kill her own children? How can a victimised woman turn into a passionate and scheming avenger? These questions have gripped audiences of Euripides’ Medea for over 2000 years and will be returning to the stage once again. Performed with a new English translation alongside the original ancient-Greek, the 2023 Oxford Greek Play aims to breathe new life into the past and reveal its timeless significance.
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