Malone Society conference: CAMPASPE

In 2024, we honour our President and former Chair, Mrs Leah Scragg, by turning our attention to the work of the Elizabethan prose writer, poet, and dramatist John Lyly. The Malone Society conference will be dedicated to his comedy Campaspe (1583), originally performed by the children's company at the Blackfriars playhouse, and subsequently presented at court for Queen Elizabeth I by the combined Children of the Chapel Royal and of Paul's on New Year's Day, 1584, at Whitehall Palace. The play revolves around the beautiful Campaspe, a prisoner of war taken as captive to Athens by Alexander of Macedon after the fall of Thebes. King Alexander and the painter Apelles both fall in love with the captive and try to win her love. Kings, artists, soldiers—and a philosopher in a tub!

The conference will be held in the Tsuzuki Lecture Theatre at St Anne's College, Oxford on Sunday 20th October.

The day will start at 10:30 am with an introduction and a script-in-hand performance of the play, and, after the lunch break (own arrangements), we will have a series of academic sessions. Speakers TBC.

Attendance is restricted to 80 people only, and registration costs £7.50 full price / £5 concessions.

PROGRAMME TBC

If you have any queries, please contact Dr José A. Pérez Díez (University of Leeds), Events Organiser for the Malone Society: [email protected] / @JoseAPerezDiez

Host or Publisher The Malone Society