Spring is in the air!

 Brighton Fringe | Greek Drama Workshops | Graphics and Website Volunteer | New Trustees

We hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying the spring weather!

After a busy winter putting plans in place we have some exciting events coming up over the next few months and we hope to see many of you there!

First of all:

aod are back at Brighton Fringe!

We are delighted to be returning to Brighton Fringe this May - with 20 performances over 2 weekends! That's a lot of shows, so please join us, bring a friend and SPREAD THE WORD!

The three different shows you can see at out venue are:

Stories in the Garden: A family friendly, interactive show exploring the myth of Ariadne for ages 4-8!

6th & 7th, 13th & 14th May: 10am, 12pm & 2pm

Book Tickets Here! 

Lionhouse Cabaret: Featuring hilarious comedy duo Dyball & Kerr and a host of special guests!

6th & 7th, 13th & 14th May: 7.30pm

Book Tickets Here!

We also delighted to be hosting Helen Tennison with Doggerland, an absurd lecture/presentation about borders, real and imaginary and how they shape our experience of being human.

8th & 15th May: 4.30pm & 8pm
Doggerland is co-badged Festival of Europe UK

Book Tickets Here!

Greek Drama Workshops

Our Education Officer has been working very hard these last few months, travelling all over the country leading Greek drama workshops in secondary schools. We are delighted with the wonderful feedback (and gifts!) he has received from pupils and teachers.

'The pupils really enjoyed the day - we will definitely be booking you next year!'

— Surbiton High School 

Graphics and Website Volunteer

Would you like to get involved in aod's work? Are you passionate about graphic design and knowledgeable about web design?

We are looking for a graphic designer to:

Design flyers, posters and promotional material Create images for our website and social media Help to maintain the design of our website

If you are interested please contact our Administrator:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

New Trustees

We are thrilled to welcome two new members to our Board of Trustees: Brian Beaton and Shelley Warren.

We are also on the lookout for more exciting and dynamic individuals who could help us take our company forward. We are keen to get work with people with interest in the creative industries, fundraising and social media and marketing. We also especially encourage applications from individuals belonging to under-represented groups as we are strongly committed to inclusion and accessibility and we believe that it is self-evident that diverse boards deliver more.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested please contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Stories in the Garden: Ariadne!

Award winning companies Bee in my Beanie and Actors of Dionysus join forces to share the magical tale of Ariadne! Join Tess the Story Archeologist and her assistant Fred the Puppet on a magical adventure, help us rediscover a forgotten hero and play games along the way. Full of bubbles, fun and puppet madness.

This production is recommended for children ages 4-8 but will suit the whole family. This is an outdoor show so be sure to dress for all weathers and enjoy story telling at its finest!

Feedback and reviews from last year: "an immersive and unique experience. Even I learned things above Greek mythology that I was not aware of!"

"Lovely play, which kept the audience engaged even on the rain. A nice, funny entré to classical myths!"

Audience members Ariadne Brighton Fringe 2021

Review for Bee in my Beanie's Aamira and Gad 2020: "Content follows form in this beautifully created production" The Spy in the Stalls ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Bee in my Beanie & Actors of Dionysus Ariadne

7th – 8th May & 14th & 15th May: Performances at 10am, 12pm and 2pm

Ticket price: £8.50

Running time 55mins

Bee in my Beanie & Actors of Dionysus Ariadne

7th – 8th May & 14th & 15th May: Performances at 10am, 12pm and 2pm

Ticket price: £8.50

Running time 55mins 

Lionhouse Cabaret presents:

Bumfluffery and other silliness….

Comedy cabaret hosted by Actors of Dionysus featuring a host of special guests including the brilliant comedy duo, Dyball & Kerr debuting new work from Bumfluffery 'A field guide to the idiot British male'.

"High class character comedy." The Observer.

Affirmative, immersive, stupid.

Hosted by performer and Treason show regular, Mark Katz, other guests include: folk singer Tina Bell, stand up comic Anthony Ayton; aerialist Tamsin Shasha, performer and guitarist Lou Macari and all the way from Alabama - Clint Westwood

Lionhouse Cabaret; Bumfluffery and other silliness….comedy cabaret, live music & more: 6th & 7th; 13th & 14th May at 7.30pm – 9.15pm (incl interval for drinks)

Running time 90mins

NB Please check dates for special guests

Ticket price £20; £17.50 concs. 

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Lucy joins AOD as a University Placement Volunteer!

For the past four weeks I've been doing a work placement with aod as part of my final year studying Theatre and English at the University of Bristol. It's been a truly amazing experience!

Not only have aod been so welcoming, they have also allowed me insight into some of their upcoming projects. I spent the first week of my placement assisting with the dramaturgical development of Savage Beauty, a re-imagining of Sophocles' Antigone for the era of climate crisis, in connection with COP26 in Glasgow in November (watch this space). It was wonderful to be able to take a deep dive not only into this script, but also aod's many past versions of Antigone alongside translations of the original play. Savage Beauty is such a timely and vital piece of theatre, in addition to it's fascinating relationship with its Ancient Greek source, and it was such a privilege to be able to develop my skills in such an exciting context as well as under the kind and knowledgeable mentorship of the Creative Team.

Another privilege of my placement was being able to attend a research and development session for the upcoming Black Voices in Myth project (again, watch this space). This was an incredible session featuring voices of Black academics, writers, theatre makers and young scholars. Much like Savage Beauty this project is also of vital and pressing importance and it was a wonderful session to witness.

I first encountered aod through the excellent #DailyDose series on Twitter and I very much enjoyed getting a peak behind the scenes in the third week of my placement. It's lovely that there's network of academics, actors, artists and cool-people-of-all-sorts who are willing to volunteer their voices and help share texts from, and which respond to, the ancient world. On that note, a real highlight of my placement was being able to share an extract of some of my own writing on the #DailyDose: a section from a short play in which Clytemnestra questions her own reception history as the Worst of Wives and asks what does it mean to be a hero anyway? (Check it out if you're interested: https://twitter.com/aodtheatre/status/1359448229604114432?s=20 ).Thank you so much to aod for giving me the opportunity to share some of my own work as well as learning from theirs.

Other highlights included beta-testing the new online workshops (it's great to see school pupils are enjoying them, it's the sort of thing I'd have loved at school) and making crafts for children, to be released on Instagram soon…

Lucy Ruddiman, 2021

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The Big Night In

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The Big Night In was a roaring success this winter as we saw 40 of aod's supporters join us over zoom to help raise funds for our Big Give Christmas Challenge. Not only did we exceed our Big Give Christmas Challenge target, we also saw 27 new donors take a chance on aod!

The evening saw us joined by some fantastic special guests including Professor Mary Bear, Professor Michael Scott, Professor Edith Hall and Professor Katherine Harloe. All our guests read beautifully, and we enjoyed a delightful range of ancient Greek/ Roman texts.

Abby McCann and Ben Scheck performed wonderfully alongside Tamsin Shasha and Mark Katz (the former wowed us with aerial trapeze improvised to the YMCA!).

We had cocktail making, a quiz, and a fabulous raffle with prizes generously donated:

Afternoon tea for two at the 5 star Montcalm Hotel donated by Experience Days

A wine bundle from Michael and the team at Majestic Wines Brighton & Hove

A painting from Choosing Disco in the neon style

A deluxe box containing all sorts of brilliant aod merchandise

A free aod digital workshop

Urban axe throwing experience from WhistlePunks London

All in all a fabulous evening and we look forward to 2021 when we can host another Big Night In!
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Trojan Woman, House of St Barnabas

aod performed scenes from Trojan Women in the wonderful chapel at House of St Barnabas on 5th Feb, as part of our new Inner Circle gatherings hosted by Robert Garbett of Drone Major Group

Scenes were performed by Mark Katz, Tamsin Shasha and Kirsten Shaw to tie in with aod's Creative Responses to Troy at the British Museum on 22nd Feb

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July/August Update

 

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Here’s another bumper update from aod HQ, with July and August offerings to whet your whistle:

The Big Give logo

The Big Give Christmas Challenge

Thank you so much to everyone who pledged to our campaign - We are delighted to announce that we reached our pledge goal of £1795. We now hope to be selected by a match funder who will match this amount, meaning that we can raise even more money for aodEducation when the campaign goes live in December.

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Workshops and education

We've enjoyed a flurry of workshop bookings since schools returned last week - Don’t forget to book our 2-hour workshops or longer Classics Days before they sell out!

We are still giving away our Greek drama workshops, and have a few left in Southwark - If you are a teacher based in Southwark, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to take advantage of this free offer.

Why not celebrate being back at school by purchasing our DVDs and educational resources - We sell DVDs from our productions of Antigone, Lysistrata, Medea and Oedipus, as well as books, audio CDs and essays. Take a look at our shop - http://www.actorsofdionysus.com/shop

We are currently working on a couple of exciting educational initiatives for 2020, and look forward to sharing more news soon!

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What Charity competition

We recently won a year's premium membership to WhatCharity, a great new online platform which helps charities to find vital support, whether that be financial,
voluntary or by way of equipment. WhatCharity connects charities and philanthropists in the hope of nurturing new partnerships, which is fab.

We were featured in their recent blog which went out to thousands of supporters, meaning lots of publicity for aod: https://goodreads.whatcharity.com/announcing-our-latest-competition-winner/

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Join us

There are many ways to become involved in aod and our work, and we are always happy to welcome new friends and supporters -

Become a Fod, Pod, Bod or God - Our annual supporters scheme offers a host of exciting rewards.

Become a trustee - Our board of trustees provide us with expert guidance and support across all areas of the charity.

Join our inner circle - Our inner circle of supporters share a vision for aod’s future and work closely with the artistic director and board of trustees toward a strategic policy of expansion, sustainability and longevity.

As a charity with no regular public funding, we rely on our supporters who help us to create exciting work which keeps Ancient Greek drama alive and accessible for modern audiences. If you would like to find out more about the work of the charity and think that you have the right qualities to join us, then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Performances from our friends

Everything I See I Swallow

Our Artistic Director Tamsin and her co-performer Maisy enjoyed great success in Edinburgh with their aerial theatre show Everything I See I Swallow, which won 2 awards - The Scotsman’s prestigious Fringe First, and Broadway World's best circus/physical show. They are about to embark on an autumn tour, firstly visiting The Lowry, Square Chapel Arts Centre and Harlow Playhouse in September.

For more information about the show, and for tour dates, see their website at https://shashaandtaylor.wixsite.com/swallow/national-tour

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Extraordinary Wall of Silence

Our friends at Ad Infinitum are premiering their new work in October:

Three coming-of-age stories, united in a struggle against violence, ignorance and oppression.

Helen, Alan, and Graham are told they are impaired and need fixing. Connecting through a shared past they are transported to one pivotal moment in 1880 when a dangerous ideology was born: one that would impair the way the world views Deaf people for over a century.

Ad Infinitum combines the company's signature style of physical storytelling with the beauty of British Sign Language in an unmissable feast for the senses.

Extraordinary Wall of Silence is a bilingual performance in BSL and English. The show will run for two weeks from 5th - 19th October at Bristol Old Vic.

For more information follow this link - https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/extraordinary-wall-of-silence

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May/June Update

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This is a bumper update from aod HQ this month, with May and June offerings to whet your whistle!

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Workshops

Please SPREAD THE WORD about our educational workshops, which offer Key Stage 4 and 5 students high quality, fun and practical support in the field of Ancient Greek drama. Workshops are tailor-made to suit individual groups and are available to book across the country. We work with most Greek texts. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.

Don’t take our word for it, here is a testimonial about Mark’s recent workshop at Southam College on the 26th June:

 

"I could not recommend this workshop enough. Mark was enthusiastic and full of energy, motivating the students, while simultaneously scaffolding his approach to different students who needed varying degrees of care and support. He challenged them to push themselves but none of the students felt as though they were singled out or put on the spot.

His knowledge of Greek Theatre, the context at the time and the original performance conditions were fantastic. He ensured that he had familiarised himself with the specification we are studying so that he could better prepare himself and fully support our students. He knew the nature of the questions on the written papers and tailored his workshop to that focus. This was extremely beneficial to our students, who have struggled in the past connecting their own work to the original performances.

Mark was personable and charismatic, drawing the students in and creating an atmosphere of energy and enthusiasm. It was a pleasure to watch him work and all of our students were gushing afterwards at how much they had learnt and how much they had enjoyed it."

Jessica Ferguson

 

The Big Give logo


The Big Give

We are taking part in the 2019 Christmas Challenge, to raise funds for our free workshops. We are now asking for very kind pledgers to help us to reach our pledge goal of £1795. You have until the 30th of August to make a pledge online, and you can do that here. If you don’t already know about The Christmas Challenge, you can find out more about the campaign here.

 

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Funding

We've just received £1000 from the Newcomen Collett Foundation to run a further 5 free workshops in Southwark, which is a fantastic result and we can’t wait to get started in the autumn term!

We are busy applying for funding to expand our outreach work - Plans include developing a series of drama and myth workshops for primary schools and developing our work with community groups and volunteers in Brighton. Watch this space for exciting developments!

 

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Honorary Patron

We are excited to announce that Jane Asher has become an honorary patron of ours. Jane worked with aod on our fundraising event at the Reform Club in 2012, and we are really pleased to welcome her back to the fold. Jane is a well known public figure with an extensive acting CV and her affiliation with aod is fantastic. Jane joins our honorary patrons Sir Simon Russell Beale, Natalie Haynes and Bettany Hughes.

 

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Join Us


There are many ways to become involved in aod and our work, and we are always happy to welcome friends and supporters -

Become a Fod, Pod, Bod or God - Our annual supporters' scheme offers a host of exciting rewards for supporters.

Become a trustee - Our board of trustees provide us with expert guidance and support across all areas of the charity.

Join our inner circle - Our inner circle of supporters share a vision for aod’s future and work closely with the artistic director and board of trustees toward a strategic policy of expansion, sustainability and longevity.

As a charity with no regular public funding, we rely on our supporters who help us to create exciting work which keeps Ancient Greek drama alive and accessible. If you would like to find out more about the work of the charity and think that you have the right qualities to join us, then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 


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From Our Friends

You can catch our artistic director Tamsin’s aerial show Everything I See I Swallow at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Summerhall, 3-25th August) before it embarks on a short autumn tour. For more details and to book tickets, visit the website here.

 

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FROM OUR FRIENDS

 

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Last Rehearsal
Supported by the British Council
Selected by English Touring Theatre

The Warren: The Blockhouse
Brighton Fringe Festival

Thurs 23, Fri 24, Sat 25 May
6:15pm

The actors arrive at the theatre to discover that their director has abandoned the play. So what now? Should they just forget about the play after all their hard work? Or should they stay calm and carry on? An explosive debate erupts among them. Will this crisis destroy their faith in art, or is this dangerous confrontation, in itself, their best work yet?

The Last Company are an ensemble of Latin American and
British artists.

Vibrant theatre which confronts us with ourselves!

 

Buy Tickets

 

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April Update

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Here’s a short April update about all things aod.


Funding
Megan and Mark have been cracking on with a range of funding applications, to continue our free workshop project or to test and grow new approaches to aodEducation and our community work.

aodEducation

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We are nearing the end of our current free workshop quota. Thank you to Mark and Will for their consistently energetic and inspiring work - Mark is soon heading to Wandsworth for an Antigone workshop with Year 13 students, which will help with exam prep.

Don’t forget our tailor made workshops and Classics Days, which are available to book all year round - For more info go to our aodEducation page.

 

Savage Beauty

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Megan and Tamsin met with a couple of Brighton based gardening groups (Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Friends of Queens Park) to chat about our plans for Savage Beauty in 2020 - We look forward to continuing conversations as the project develops.


Stay tuned for a May update!

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March Update

Here’s a March update, brought to you by aod HQ.

New website

We have almost finished edits for the new aod website, which we will be launching soon. We look forward to bringing you an updated production archive and a new look. Thanks to Drone Major Group for supporting us with this project.

Turing House School

Mark at Turing House School, March 2019

aodEducation

Mark has been busy running lots of free workshops for aod. Here is some recent feedback which is really encouraging and makes us so happy to be able to run the project.

"Absolutely fantastic. Mark was really engaging, knowledgeable and encouraging – he was just perfect. It has really enhanced their study of the play and I am so appreciative. I hope that we can work with you again."

Judith Parker, Sacred Heart High School

We are applying for funding to continue the project into autumn 2019, so watch this space for more workshops coming your way!

Can’t wait until autumn?!

Don’t forget our Classics Days, which are now available to book - For more info go to our Classics Days page.


2020

We are busy working on an exciting proposal for the 2020 Brighton Fringe, which fuses modern takes on ancient myths with a community choir and gardening workshops, to create a special production which connects communities in Brighton with epic stories in an outdoor environment.

Also for 2020, we are planning an autumn re-mount of our dystopian Antigone, which toured nationally in 2017. Watch the trailer

 

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Watch this space for more announcements!

“Actors of Dionysus' crisp new production cleverly maintains the heart and soul of Sophocles’ tragedy, whilst bringing it an exciting, relevant edge.”

Charlotte Wallis, Cue Charlotte
Read the full review here


Stay tuned for our April update, coming soon.

 

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February Update

Wowee, it’s March already!

aodEducation

 

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Mark, Tamsin and David Stuttard were busy in February with a programme of aod workshops, which included a special Classics Day at Notting Hill and Ealing High School, some Scotland-based classical workshops and a really fun workshop/panel discussion at Kings College London as part of their Greek Play Day.

Megan took trips to see KCL's Antigone and UCL's Oedipus Rex - KCL's female Creon made for a bold spin on the play, and the chorus of newsreaders were great.

We wanted to share this testimonial from a KCL workshop participant which we think encapsulates the great work that aodEducation does:

"As a complete beginner in the world of acting and performance studies, I approached Tamsin’s workshop with intense nerves and anticipation.
However, Tamsin’s clear and concise directions carried me through all the exercises without worry and I felt completely immersed in the experience.
For a blissful hour and a half, I forgot all my worries and now feel inspired to consider drama and theatre studies as a degree option."

11 by 11

Megan is working with Islington Council on their 11 by 11 scheme, which offers schools in Islington a programme of free creative and cultural activities - aod are participating by running a Greek drama workshop during the summer term.

November 2019 Event

SAVE THE DATE - 14th November 2019 - for the next aodEvent, which will take place at the Athenaeum Club in Pall Mall. More details to follow - Watch this space!

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aod January newsletter

aodEducation

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We kick-started 2019 off in style with a number of drama workshops and specially curated Classics Days; Tamsin Shasha, Mark Katz and David Stuttard descended on to Manchester to run a day-long workshop at Withington Girl's School on the 23rd January, where they worked with students offering a variety of imaginative workshops and presentations which focussed on ancient texts such as Trojan Women and Antigone. To book a Classics Day or drama workshop for your students contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Our free Greek drama resource page launched in mid-January with a collection of Antigone resources designed for practical teaching and learning support. Watch this space for Lysistrata and Oedipus resources, coming soon! We are regularly updating the page; to request a specific resource, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Our free workshop campaign is still going strong and to date we have given away 30 free drama and classics workshops to state school/college students in London and East Sussex. This project has been made possible by funding from our supporters, the Four Acre Trust and the Classical Association. 

Become a Friend of Dionysus

 

Our supporters scheme is even bigger and better for 2019, with more rewards on offer for supporters. Members can join at any point in the calendar year, and select from a range of membership options. Interesting in joining the fold? More information can be found here: http://www.actorsofdionysus.com/support-us/become-a-friend-patron-or-benefactor

From Our Friends

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  • Our friends at Ad Infinitum are touring with No Kids, which kicked off at Battersea Arts Centre, and follows at venues including Tobacco Factory Theatres, Corn Exchange Newbury and The Lowry. For full tour dates click here.
  • Our friends at Classics for All are offering Key Stage 2 teachers a free taster session on the 28th February at Brentwood School to discuss the value of Classics Education. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity! You can sign up here.

 


Our February catch up is coming soon!

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HERE’S A DECEMBER UPDATE!

Great funding result

We started December off on a real high by successfully winning £5,000 from the Chalk Cliff Trust and we are over the moon about this result! We thank the trust for their generous support for East Sussex based small charities.

Become a Friend of Dionysus!

Our supporters scheme is back, and it’s even bigger and better for 2019, with more rewards on offer for supporters. Members can join at any point in the calendar year, and select from a range of membership options. Interesting in joining the fold? More information can be found here: http://www.actorsofdionysus.com/support-us/become-a-friend-patron-or-benefactor

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An aod drama workshop in action, led by Tamsin Shasha

 Resource page

Keep an eye out for the launch of our free drama resource page! The project is supported by the Classical Association and the Jowett Copyright Trust and will offer practical teaching and learning resources which draw from our 25 years of work in education.

 

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Lysistrata at our 2018 fundraiser. © Patrick Dodds

 Annual fundraiser

Watch this space for news of our 2019 summer fundraiser - This year we are working on a slightly different programme for the event and we are excited to share details with you soon.

 

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Give as You Live

Looking to escape cold January with a hot holiday? Sign up to Give as You Live and donate to Actors of Dionysus when you shop online for purchases like holidays, at no extra cost to you. Signing up is free and simple to do. All donations are very gratefully received by aod, and because it costs you nothing, it really is a win win! You can sign up here.

 

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© The Other Richard

 

Everything I See I Swallow, 2019

Tamsin and Maisy are working on plans for an Edinburgh Festival Fringe run of the show and subsequent tour…Watch this space for some really exciting announcements! For more information about the show which is a beautiful and raw examination of a mother daughter relationship amongst shifting attitudes to feminism, click here.

Our January catch up is coming soon!

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THEA NERISSA - BARNES

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Thea in rehearsals for aod's Medea


We are very sad to hear about the death of Thea Nerissa - Barnes, who worked with us on our production of Medea in 2001.

Thea was a fantastic artist, choreographer and mentor who worked with us to produce a version of Medea that was physical, powerful and exciting, and her choreographic contribution to the piece will always resonate with us. She also worked on our production of Antigone the subsequent year. 

She was, amongst other great roles, former Artistic Director of the brilliant Phoenix Dance Company. 

Her loss will be felt by all in the dance community and we extend our condolences to her friends and family at this sad time.

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HERE’S A NOVEMBER UPDATE!

 

Performance lecture

We had a great time in Oxford on the 12th November at the APGRD, where we took a trip down memory lane with David Stuttard and a very welcoming audience. The evening included wine, nibbles and performances from aod's repertoire, plus an interactive taster of one of our educational workshops, which went down really well.

 

Megan received a number of requests to join aod's mailing list after the event, as well as a Fod (friend of dionysus) request, and we are thankful to the APGRD for hosting us and for supporting and sharing our work.

 

25th birthday party

We kicked off our 25th year in style, celebrating high up in the sky in Canary Wharf with many friends, supporters and colleagues - past and present. Check out our previous party post for more  pics.

 

 

 

Free DVD!

CALLING ALL TEACHERS… Book one of our tailor-made workshops for your students and receive a free DVD of our 2017 production of Antigone - Two fabulous learning resources in one package and perfect for exam preparation! We only have one or two DVDs left to give away, so take advantage and book a workshop for the new year - Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

 

Workshops

Thank you to Mark and Will, our amazing workshop leaders, for running awesome drama workshops over the past couple of months. Both have received glowing feedback from teachers, and we are really pleased that our free workshop campaign in London and East Sussex has been so popular. All free workshops are now booked up, but watch this space for news of future campaigns!

 

 

Resource page

We are launching a resource page in early 2019, and students and teachers worldwide will be able to visit and download a selection of free educational resources which will help with their learning of Greek drama. Resources will be uploaded by us on a frequent basis, and will span our 25 years of work. Watch this space for more details!


Give as You Live

In the run up to Christmas please sign up to Give as You Live and donate to Actors of Dionysus when you shop online, at no extra cost to you. Signing up is free and easy to do. All donations are very gratefully received by aod, and because it costs you nothing, it really is a win win! You can sign up here.

 

 

Drone Major Group

We want to thank Drone Major Group for supporting our birthday party auction with a state of the art done, complete with a professional flying lesson to boot. Drone Major is the world’s first company to provide specialist services to buyers of drones and drone related equipment, including advice and strategic consultancy to enable buyers to navigate the widening applications for drone technology. You must check them out! https://dronemajor.net

 

In other news

 

  • Tamsin attended the NCVO's AGM on the 19th November which was a delightful and informative event and we wholeheartedly support their great work
  • Tamsin attended Pitch Up in Brighton on the 20th November, a fantastic networking event for companies and venues, bringing them together over informal conversations about new pieces of work. Tamsin was able to have conversations with a range of venues about our work which is really exciting
  • Megan attended By Jove Theatre's birthday celebrations on the 30th November at the lovely Sunshine Cafe Arts near Brixton. We love By Jove Theatre and Megan really enjoyed their evening of performance, especially the amazing solo piece Here She Comes which was an incredibly exciting epic poem based on The Bacchae. Watch out for their work!

 

We’ll be back in the new year with a December catch up!

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We’re back with an October update!

Tour booking workshop

 

Megan attended a fantastic tour booking workshop at the Albany Theatre in early October, run by the fantastic Mark Makin - The day long workshop focussed on all aspects of tour booking, and Megan looks forward to putting what she learnt in to practice soon. We highly recommend this workshop! For more info and to book, visit the Independent Theatre Council’s website.

 

Metamorphosis festival

 

Megan attended the Metamorphosis festival in early October, hosted by the Architecture Foundation - Taking place at the beautiful Old Royal Naval College and Queen’s House in Greenwich, this day long festival featured an array of lectures and performances around the theme of classical currents in contemporary culture. The festival fantastically celebrated the legacy of the ancient Greeks and Romans by connecting it with innovative work being created today, and Blake Morrision’s lecture which featured performances from his versions of Lysistrata and Antigone was of particular brilliance.

 

 

 

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Aviva Community Fund

Please vote for our community project, to run free vocal and drama workshops for community choirs and state schools in Caterham, Brighton and Didcot. Your votes will make such a difference to the project, helping us to go through to the second round of the contest, to be judged by a panel of experts, who will fund the winning projects. Voting is totally free and takes less than a minute, and you can vote here. Voting closes on the 20th November.

 

You can also donate to the cause on Crowdfunder, in return for some awesome rewards. If you’d like to donate, whatever money you can spare will be greatly received. Donations will go toward ensuring that we keep the Classics alive and accessible for all, in theatres, in schools and beyond. You can donate here.

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Image from Medea at Rose Theatre Kingston, 2013

 

 

Support for Medea

We are always interested in developing new relationships and talking about collaborations for this exciting show, which features wall running, aerial dance and an ambitious new participatory arm which involves community choirs taking on the Greek chorus - For commissioning, programming or booking enquires contact Megan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Antigone

 

Workshop and free DVD offer

CALLING ALL TEACHERS… Book one of our tailor-made workshops for your students and receive a free DVD of our 2017 production of Antigone - Two fabulous learning resources in one package and perfect for exam preparation! We only have a few DVDs left to give away, so take advantage and book a workshop today - Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

 

Lysistrata copy

 

Give as You Live

Thank you to our kind supporters who have already raised £2.13 for Actors of Dionysus! Sign up to Give as You Live and donate to Actors of Dionysus when you shop online, at no extra cost to you. Signing up is free and easy to do. All donations are very gratefully received, and because it costs you nothing, it’s a win win! You can sign up here.

 

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Atlantic Big Wall Vertical Dance

Tamsin had an amazing time in Lisbon at the end of October, participating on the Atlantic Big Wall Vertical Dance. Some great wall play was had in the sun (and the rain, including hailstones for good measure!) and we can’t wait to get back in to the studio to work with what we’ve learnt, applying it to Medea.

 

It’s All Greek

Looking for a special classical gift for Christmas? Our friends at It’s All Greek provide an exciting array of fine replicas of ancient Greek art - Bronze, marble, pottery, ceramics and jewellery, all under one aegis, and all from the best suppliers in Greece and in the UK. We thoroughly recommend the store for its charming items which make beautiful and very individual gifts. To shop online, click here.

 

We’ll be back soon with a November catch up!

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We’re back with a September update!

Sirens

Having sadly missed it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Megan got to see Zoo Co Theatre Company and their excellent show Sirens at Greenwich Theatre in early September - Fusing creative captions, projections and visual storytelling to create a modern and accessible take on the Greek myth, the show tells the story of three sirens who find themselves washed up in Hastings in 2018, and the ensuing chaos that follows. Catch it if you can!

 

Arts Council England bid

We submitted an ACE application in September for the first phase of development of our aerial Medea, and have our fingers firmly crossed for a positive outcome!

 

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Image from Medea, piloted in 2013 at Rose Theatre Kingston

 

Support for Medea

We have begun exciting conversations with a number of venues and programmers about support for the show, and we are always interested in developing new relationships and talking about collaborations too - For commissioning, programming or booking enquires contact Megan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

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Free drama and classics workshops

Our free workshops have all been snapped up and we are looking forward to taking them to a number of state schools and colleges in London. The initiative is part of our commitment to keeping the Classics alive and accessible, and has been made possible by kind funding from the Four Acre Trust and our supporters.

 

25th birthday party

We are marking our 25th anniversary with a celebration (drinks, canapés and rehearsed readings) at Canary Wharf on the 15th November. For further details contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

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Performance Lecture, 12th November

We are delighted to be discussing our 25 years of work in a performance lecture at the University of Oxford on the 12th November. Join us for this exciting event as we perform extracts from our repertoire of productions and celebrate our 25 years as a charity and theatre company. Tickets are free and there is no booking required - We hope to see you there!

 

Workshop and free DVD offer

CALLING ALL TEACHERS… Book one of our tailor-made workshops for your students and receive a free DVD of our 2017 production of Antigone - Two fabulous learning resources in one package and perfect for exam preparation! We only have five DVDs to give away, so take advantage and book a workshop today - Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

 

Antigone

 

The Lehman Trilogy

With thanks to the immense generosity of our Honorary Patron Simon Russell Beale, Tamsin and a lucky auction prize winner of ours recently enjoyed an evening at The National Theatre to watch The Lehman Trilogy in which Simon stars. This very special prize consisted of top-price tickets to the show plus the chance to meet Simon himself for a post-show drink - Priceless. The show plays until the 20th October, and for tickets click the link above.

 

Classical Association blog

aod is featured in this month's Classical Association blog, where Megan talks about our free workshop project - You can read the article here

 

Give as You Live

There’s still time to sign up to Give as You Live for free to donate to aod when you shop online, at no extra cost to you. All donations are very gratefully received, and because it costs you nothing, it’s a win win! You can sign up using the link above.

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We’ll be back soon with an October catch up!

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Radio interview

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Mark Katz and Tamsin Shasha were interviewed on Seahaven FM (Thurs 21st Sep) by Roy Stannard on The Whole Nine Yards where they both got the chance to chose 10 favourite tracks each, explaining why they had meaning for them. Mark and Tamsin followed in auspicious footsteps - previous guests have included as diverse individuals as the late Denis Healey and Mike Kerr of the rock band Royal Blood.

You can hear the interviews here:

https://www.mixcloud.com/roystannard/tw9y-20918-hour-1-tamsin-shasha-mark-katz-actors-of-dionysius-with-roy-stannard-at-seahaven-fm/

https://www.mixcloud.com/roystannard/tw9y-20918-hour-2-tamsin-shasha-mark-katz-actors-of-dionysius-with-roy-stannard-on-seahaven-fm/

If you like the recording please help us to promote the show by tweets and facebook links https://www.facebook.com/roystannard
https://www.facebook.com/seahavenfm

 

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Fenella Fielding 1927 -2018

FENELLA
 
Message from the Artistic Director, Tamsin Shasha
 
It is with great sadness that we learnt of the death, on Wednesday, of our great friend and collaborator Fenella Fielding.  We had the pleasure of working with Fenella on a number of projects including Savage Beauty at the Other Palace (formerly St James Theatre) and The Sweetness of Honey CD (a collection of Sappho poetry set to music).  She had an indomitable spirit and a wicked sense of humour and was forever regaling us with anecdotes from her past.  If there was anyone you could persuade you to believe she would carry on working forever it was her.  She never wanted to stop.  She was also a lovely person to share afternoon tea with at Bafta and I for one will miss her candour, generosity, passion and kindness.  She was a special lady indeed.  We have her voice to remember her by and her spirit lives on in our hearts.
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aod August Blog

As the summer draws to a close, we thought we’d start a monthly blog to warm your cockles and keep you updated about all things aod!

 

Edinburgh Festival

August was full of all things theatrical - Tamsin and Megan briefly visited the Edinburgh festival and saw some fantastic and inspiring pieces of work; highlights included Rhum and Clay’s Mistero Buffo, The Lampoon’s House on Haunted Hill and Paines Plough’s Island Town.

 

Clown, Clown and Pigeon

One of our wonderful collaborators, Katherine Sturt-Scobie, presented Clown, Clown and Pigeon at The Hope Theatre in August with the theatre company Bee in my Beanie. This is the company’s second show and it saw them tackle three stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, inspired by characters from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and drawing on traditional clowning and Commedia Dell’Arte. We loved this exciting show and wish the company every success.

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Image from Medea, piloted in 2013 at Rose Theatre Kingston

 

Medea, 2019

At aod HQ we are busy planning for our aerial version of Medea which will tour nationally in autumn 2019 - We are really excited about re-developing the show which piloted in 2013 at Rose Theatre Kingston, and are working on a dynamic Arts Council bid for the development of the project. For commissioning and programming enquires contact Megan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Donation initiative

Because of our commitment to education work the Four Acre Trust offered us a brilliant double your money donation initiative, where new donors to aod had their donations doubled by the trust - We raised £1200 and want to thank our supporters and the Four Acre Trust for their generosity. Money raised will go toward our educational outreach programme.

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Will Bridges running a free workshop at Alexandra Park School

 

Free drama and classics workshops

 

The whole workshop was wonderful! We are rarely able to have workshops because of the expense so thank you so much for giving us this opportunity.

Archbishop Tenison’s School

 

We have a number of tailor made free workshops up for grabs at schools and colleges in inner and outer London. Workshops are perfect for drama and classics students and we work with a variety of source texts such as Antigone and Lysistrata. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for booking information. This project is supported by the Four Acre Trust and has been made possible by kind donations from our friends and supporters.

 

Educational resources

We have received kind grants from the Jowett Copyright Trust and the Classical Association to produce free online educational resources for students, and work has begun on developing these.  The interactive resources will primarily assist drama teachers and students in their teaching and learning of the classics, but will also be useful for classics teachers and students.

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Give as You Live

By signing up to Give as You Live for free, you can donate to aod when you shop online, at no extra cost to you. Signing up is quick and easy to do, and the tool bar which automatically informs you when you can raise money is ingenious! All donations are very gratefully received, and because it costs you nothing, it’s a win win! You can sign up using the link above.

We’ll be back soon with a September catch up!

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