Orestes in Oxford
On Wednesday the 27th of November, the Classics Department held a trip to watch the Euripides play Orestes in Oxford. It was an enjoyable evening, which began with pizza at Franco Manco before journeying on to the O'Reilly Theatre in Keble College.
writes James L (Sixth Form):
The theatre was interesting as it was fairly small, meaning that the actors were fairly close to the audience. The realism this created was exaggerated by the staging, as the actors moved freely all around the room. I enjoyed the acting a lot, as the cast conveyed passion and emotion through their voices and actions, despite speaking in another language. The pronunciation of Greek words was very interesting to hear, paired with the metre, giving their voices a sense of authority and grandeur. I was surprised that despite being unable to see facial expressions due to the masks, I could understand the prevalent emotions throughout!
In addition, I thought that the person playing the aulos was extremely fun to listen to. The music was beautifully played and blended in well with the play, giving a perspective on how music was back then and causing me to think about how music has shifted and evolved from the Age of Antiquity. Notably, the aulos has only been remade in the last fifteen or so years, meaning this was a relatively new experience for a modern audience.
The play was described as 'possibly the most authentic Greek tragedy in the past 2000 years'. Our cohort certainly thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to Ms Cebon for arranging and leading this trip, and to Mr Hill and Mr Tonks for leading us as well.
