The Show Must Go On! Excerpts from Greek and Roman Theatre. Live performance.

Name: The Show Must Go On! Excerpts from Greek and Roman Theatre. Live performance.
Start: 2026-05-22T08:30:00+10:00
End: 2026-05-22T10:30:00+10:00
Location: 189-199 Faraday Street, Carlton, VIC, Australia, Victoria 3053

Schedule

Fri May 22 2026 at 08:30 am to 10:30 am

UTC+10:00

Location

189-199 Faraday Street, Carlton, VIC, Australia, Victoria 3053 | Melbourne, VI

Presented by CO.AS.IT., The University of Melbourne and the Hellenic Museum, with the valued support of University High School within the program of back-to-back events exploring theatre in ancient Greece and Rome for National Archaeology Week 2026 (full program: https://www.hellenic.org.au/whats-on/national-archaeology-week).
Friday 22 May 2026, 6:30pm-8:30pm
CO.AS.IT. 199 Faraday Street, Carlton
Free event. Registration essential:
https://www.coasit.com.au/events/events-archive/greek-roman-theatre-naw
Step into the world of ancient drama as timeless stories from Greek and Roman theatre are brought to life in this unique collaborative performance. The Show Must Go On! celebrates the enduring power of classical storytelling through a dynamic series of curated excerpts from some of antiquity’s most iconic plays, including Euripides’ Greek tragedy, "The Trojan Women," Aristophanes’ Greek comedy, "The Frogs" and Plautus’ Roman comedy, "Pseudolus."
This event showcases the talents of emerging performers and scholars, featuring Latin students from University High School alongside undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Melbourne, including members of MUCLASS (Melbourne University Classics and Archaeology Students Society).
First step into the desolate world of Euripides’ The Trojan Women, where the once proud women of Troy lament the destruction of their home at the hands of the Greeks. This heart-wrenching drama exposes how the cost of war extends past bloodshed to rob not just the survivors but also their victorious tormentors of their humanity.
Then, follow Dionysius, the god of theatre, as he journeys into the Underworld in an attempt to bring the recently deceased Euripides back to life in Aristophanes’ The Frogs. Upon reaching Pluto’s palace however, Dionysius finds Euripides in hot water after challenging his revered predecessor Aeschylus for the title of best tragedian. Dionysius agrees to adjudicate the debate with the high-stakes prize of resurrecting the victor.
Finally, travel to Athens for Plautus’s Pseudolus, a quintessentially Roman ‘fabula palliata’ (‘story in a Greek cloak’). Here the titular slave Pseudolus must use all his cunning to help his young master rescue his girlfriend-cum-courtesan before she is sold to the brutish Macedonian soldier Mr. Hack-and-Slash. A farcical tale of quixotic love and increasingly convoluted plots, this comedy displays Plautus at the pinnacle of his witty wisecracks and riotous ribaldry.
Image: Mosaic depicting theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy (Thermae Decianae), Wikimedia Commons.