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The Bacchae
Maria Raheel, U6N and Daniel Leung, U6N
Watching Woodford County High School performing Euripides’
The
Bacchae
was fascinating and greatly captured the ritualistic aspects of
this renowned ancient Greek play. We sat in their outdoor amphitheatre,
enhancing the experience and allowing for outstanding acoustics. We were
advised to bring cushions to sit on just as the ancient Greeks would have!
The pupils put their own twist on the play by having an all-female cast, which was particularly
intriguing because Greek plays had exclusively male actors. This meant that male characters were
portrayed with decorative and extravagant masks and costumes including bright colours and
wreaths, which the students made themselves. This added to the mystical experience which
an ancient audience also would have felt. The play was performed spectacularly with musical
accompaniment making transitions between scenes smooth and even more entertaining. The
chorus danced in unison and provided a steady commentary throughout, commenting on the
drama on stage. We witnessed the arrogance of King Pentheus being challenged by the mighty
god Dionysus, who introduced himself in the prologue, setting the scene for all of us in the
audience leaving us in a sense of anticipation waiting to see the tragic fate of Thebes!
We were left horrified upon hearing the Messenger’s speech on the murder of Pentheus by his
own mother, especially when we saw Agave boasting about her prey, holding the head of her own
son! We were able to share this horror with the chorus members who were also shocked at such
a sight. The play ended with the students providing a moral message and with an unresolved
ending, leaving the audience to ponder over what shall happen to the broken royal household…
We are very lucky to have
watched such a well put
together production,
witnessing the emotions
of characters such as
Tiresias and Cadmus,
the chorus’ ceremonial
dancing as well as
the perfect portrayal
of Dionysiac worship
performed by the
bacchants. The students
did a spectacular job
and expressed the
magnificent essence of
ancient Greek theatre.
10 CLASSICS / ART
Saatchi Gallery
Sahah Sekhon, U4
On Wednesday 14 November a group of Upper Fourth
art students visited the Saatchi Gallery. When we
went inside we were introduced to a member of staff
who guided us around the gallery and we had group
discussions about certain pieces of art work.
The first piece we saw was called
Police Line
by Michael Clein, it was
made in 2007. As a group we discussed what it could be about. It was
a very ambiguous piece and we had ideas that it was about social
realism. The next piece was by the Clayton Brothers it was filled with
colour and had so much about it. The gallery features two piece by
them. Both the pieces had recurring characters which feature in
their art work. It was art work filled by social fantasy. One piece was
called
Turbulence, Tumble, Tumble
, its message was about living
with excessive items and taking things for granted. The third piece
that we saw was by Steve Bishop made in 2008. It was called
J’adore
(mountain goat)
. This one was very funky as it had a huge Christian
Dior perfume bottle made out of concrete, and incorporated into the
sculpture was a mountain goat. The concrete is hard and man-made,
the goat is soft, vulnerable and natural. The goat is being forced
into the bottle. The goat is forever stuck in the hard concrete bottle
meaning animal testing will be unbreakable, and will keep on going
as long these cosmetics products continue. That was one idea that
we had about it. Then later on we had a workshop where we made a
collage on destruction. After lunch we wandered around the gallery
in groups and drew some of the artwork.
The Golden
Ratio
Soumya Krishna Kumar, U6E
As a keen mathematician and
classicist, I gave a talk in Classical
Society last term, giving an
insight into the golden ratio and
its links with ancient Greece.
This is an area of maths that is
both beautiful and fascinating
in equal measure, and I enjoyed
presenting on it.
I began by helping those present to derive
the golden ratio (1.6180339887...), a
number which is signified by the Greek
letter . I explained how the Parthenon
was constructed using numerous golden
triangles and then discussed Euclid’s
definition: “a straight line is said to have
been cut in extreme and mean ratio
when, as the whole line is to the greater
segment, so is the greater to the lesser.’’
I then explored the logarithmic spiral and
the link to the Fibonacci series. In the
final section of my talk, I displayed several
examples of the golden ratio being linked
to the idea of beauty, including the Mona
Lisa, and showed how it can be found in
nature – in a sunflower, for example. I
think that the audience enjoyed listening
to the talk as much as I had enjoyed
giving it. One of those present said that I
had “made maths interesting,” and they
were surprised by the underlying beauty
of maths and also of its links to ancient
culture.