15 Jun 07

As part of Oxford 's Classics Outreach programme, the Oxford University Classics Faculty has produced 'Aeneid: The Musical'. Virgil's tale of the founding of the Roman Empire is being brought to life in an accessible way, accompanied by modern songs such as 'Bad' by Michael Jackson, 'Together' by the Village People and also songs from, Dido, U2 and Robbie Williams, together with classical music from Vivaldi, Stravinksy and Purcell.

It is the first time Classics Outreach has staged a production aimed specifically at schools. Four members of staff and more than 40 postgraduate and undergraduate students from the Classics Faculty put on nightly performances at Wadham College (13-15 June). The shows have generated huge interest amongst those who might not normally be drawn to Classics. There have been sell-out performances on all three nights, with tonight's show already full with a waiting list of more than 40 people. The production has attracted pupils from both state secondary schools and private schools from as far afield as Leeds.

Writer, Director and Producer, Elizabeth Belcher, a Classics graduate who is now working as the Classics Outreach Officer, said: 'We were overwhelmed by the interest shown by schools. It was so popular we could have filled the Oxford Playhouse. Unfortunately we had to turn some people away, but we are offering a DVD of the performance for sale, and I will be visiting schools around Britain to hold Classics Outreach workshops using the DVD.'

Latin and Greek no longer feature on the national curriculum, but both subjects are sometimes taught at school as an extracurricular activity. Most of the pupils in the audience were taking GCSE and A levels courses in Ancient History (offered by OCR awarding body) or Classical Civilization (offered by OCR and AQA awarding bodies). The production was supported by Oxford University Drama Society with all proceeds from the performances going towards Macmillan Cancer Support.