Bookings for the Warwick Ancient Drama Festival 2027 are now open!
This year we are producing Aristophanes, Clouds, with the FREE schools day taking place on Friday the 29th of January 2027, 11-5.30pm, which includes a matinee at 3.30pm. As always, the play will be accompanied by talks to help pupils make sense of the production.
See more information here.
Teachers and pupils who are interested in comedy, tragedy and comedy’s engagement with tragedy, as well as festivals, comic iconography, and the role of choruses will find a lot to enjoy and learn, also from our linked lectures:
- ‘Introduction to Greek theatre and festivals’ and ‘When Clouds become Furies: Aeschylus behind Aristophanes’ – Dr Emmanuela Bakola.
- ‘Why do Greek plays have choruses?’ – Professor Judith Mossman.
- ‘The art of Greek comedy: How to tell a joke like a Greek pot’ – Dr Emily Clifford.
- ‘The Historical context of Aristophanes’ Clouds’ – Dr Paul Grigsby.
The Matinee performance (3:30-5:45pm) is free for schools to attend. If you would like to book seats for this performance, please email Lucindy Osei at Lucindy.Osei@warwick.ac.uk stating the number of students and teachers attending, including any accessibility requirements.
If you are unable to make the Matinee performance, schools are welcome to attend the evening performances on either Thursday 28th January 2027, 7:00-9:15pm or Friday 29th January 2027, 7:00-9:15pm at a greatly reduced cost of £4 per seat. Please email groupbookings@warwick.ac.uk to book tickets for these performances.
More information about the drama festival, and additional educational resources can be found here.
Some Bursaries for State Schools available
Five bursaries of £700, to be used towards travel, will be awarded to state schools in need of assistance to make the trip and attend the performance. Bursaries will be mostly aimed at schools who have not been to the festival before, but we are happy to hear from those who have attended in the past and would like assistance. Bursaries can be used for the public performances, too.
If you wish to be considered for a bursary, please email Emanuela Bakola at e.bakola@warwick.ac.uk making your case. Linking your attendance to your teaching will be an advantage.
Note: this is not a Classical Association event – please contact the organisers directly with any enquiries.
