Classical Symposium: Royal High's Unique Classical Variety Show
Senior School, Performing Arts, Classics
On Wednesday evening, almost seventy students presented an impressive Classical variety show while volunteer student ‘slaves’ offered classically inspired refreshments to a full audience. Tickets to parents were soon ‘sold out’ and, although entry was free, nearly £100 was raised for The Crane Academy, our sister school in Kenya.
With eighteen different performances, all prepared by students in their own time, there was something for everyone. Each year group was represented and the eclectic, joyous and often witty performances were not only delivered in English, but there were also short plays in Latin and Greek (with subtitles and pictures projected for those less fluent). The evening was great fun, and it was obvious to see the vital skills our brave students had developed – oracy, organisation, independence, teamwork, curiosity and a real love of the ancient world and all it offers for everyone.
The Classics Department was ably supported by the Sixth Form Classics students who introduced each piece. Two IB students were tasked to rally the troops, which contributed to their CAS award and their help was invaluable. Their reflection on the evening is below.
Mrs Claire Binney
We enjoyed performing and helping to run the Classical Symposium. For over two months, we have been assisting with the organisation of the event, so it was really rewarding to see everything come together.
The atmosphere of the evening was fantastic, with the classical theme fully embraced – there was absolutely no lack of gods, pigs, snakes, grapes, or spears! Special thanks to all the staff behind-the-scenes who helped prevent toga-malfunctions and ensured everything ran smoothly.
Featuring students from Years 7-13, there was certainly a huge variety of acts on show – from Virgil’s Aeneid to a Caecilius rap. Everyone added their own touch to their performances and challenged themselves – although compering the event was slightly out of our comfort zone, we were proud of the outcome and enjoyed the community spirit of the Symposium. We were especially impressed by Eva’s own composition on piano, and Agatha and Anouska’s creative shadow-puppet storytelling, but every contribution was unique and brilliant.
It was also great to see how enthusiastically the audience members laughed at the cheesy jokes between the acts, and how willing many of them were to get involved with the quizzes. Although they may have been surprised by the ‘To or For is the Case That’s Dative’ singing finale, it ended the evening on a joyous note, that demonstrated how keen RHB students are to get involved with Classics!
Kshama and Bea (IB Classical Languages)
