The UCL Classical Drama Society in association with the Bloomsbury Theatre presents Euripides’ Hippolytus, a fantastical and haunting interpretation of this extremely poignant play. Hippolytus tells the tale of how a young man, obsessed with the pursuit of purity, unknowingly becomes a victim of the Goddess Aphrodite’s vengeance. As the Goddess’ plan unfolds, Phaedra, his stepmother, becomes consumed with passion for him, but will she break society’s conventions and give in to unnatural desire, or protect her reputation and that of her family. As the battle between divine and mortal will begins the House of Theseus is thrown into a sequence of uncontrollable and tragic events.

Beautifully translated into English by Anne Carson, this unsettling tragedy is brought to life with elaborate costumes, contemporary video art and enchanting music which fuse the imagery of natural elements and fantasy. This production leaves our protagonists caught between free will and the capricious temper of the Gods while drawing attention to the fundamentally hubristic nature of human kind and the inevitable whimsical and inescapable wrath of the Gods that results from such transgressions.

Tickets: £9, concessions & UCL: £6

To complement this year’s production of Hippolytus, we are offering a series of talks and workshops, which aim to illuminate the play and its context and to bring Euripides to life for a modern generation. This exciting programme includes talks by academic experts on ancient drama and its reception, as well as interactive workshops by contemporary theatre practitioners. The events will be suitable for students of Classics, Classical Studies, and Drama at school or undergraduate level, and will be accessible to those with little or no previous experience of Greek drama.

Thanks to the generous support of the Hellenic Society, all events are free of charge and open to all. We still have space available at all events, and to book places for your group at the workshops or talks, please email l [dot] swift [at] ucl [dot] ac [dot] uk. Please note that workshop participants should be aged 16 and above. For the venue locations, please see the online route planner at http://crf.casa.ucl.ac.uk/ or the campus maps at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/locations/ucl-maps.

The programme for the workshops and talks is as follows:

Tuesday 7th February

3.15pm, Participatory Workshop: ‘Staging the chorus in contemporary theatre’, Russell Bender, Staff Director, National Theatre. Venue: Haldane Room

6pm, Public Talk: “The gods in Hippolytus” Professor Judith Mossman, University of Nottingham. Venue: Institute of Archaeology Lecture Theatre.

Wednesday 8th February

3.15pm, Participatory Workshop: “Negotiating desire in Hippolytus’. Dr Matthew Hiscock, free lance theatre director and lecturer in Classics at UCL. Venue: Room 432, School of Slavonic & East European Studies, Taviton St.

6pm Public Talk: ‘Choice, responsibility, and action in Hippolytus’ Dr Laura Swift, UCL. Venue: Christopher Ingold Auditorium, 20 Gordon St

Thursday 9th February

3.15pm Participatory Workshop: ‘Physical theatre and ancient drama’, Sasha Milavic Davies, Assistant Director, Complicite Theatre. Venue: Room SB1, 188 Tottenham Court Road

6pm, Public Talk: “Conflicting worlds in Hippolytus”, Professor Chris Carey, UCL. Venue: Christopher Ingold Auditorium, 20 Gordon St.