MYP students engage with Greek theatre

34 students of grades 9 and 10 visited University of Hyderabad Department of Theatre Arts on Tuesday 30th October, to see the play Medea, acted by university theatre students.

Grade 10 students have been studying Greek theatre this year as part of their unit on World Theatre History. This was their first chance to see Greek theatre on stage and watch a Greek tragedy in full. Grade 9 students will be studying Greek theatre next year so we hoped to give them a head start. Among the students visiting the theatre were two of our exchange students from Mombasa. This was an opportunity for them to see a piece of theatre in the Indian context.

The production was a fantastic representation of Euripides’ script. It explored the viciousness of a married woman’s disempowerment in a way that felt incredibly contemporary for a text written 2,500 years ago.

After the play, students got to interact with the director of the play and the cast. On the bus ride home, students were in deep discussion about Medea, showing an impassioned engagement with the play and this version of it. Grade 10 students were asked to teach the Grade 9s about the conventions of Greek theatre and what they might expect from the production such as the use of a chorus, mask work, and gruesome deaths.

“What I learnt from the play about acting is that you have to dedicate your time and gain knowledge [about your character],” said Rehan Meghani of grade 10. “You have to go in depth as your character and you have to think like your character."

Written by George Macpherson, drama faculty