30 May 08

Classic: red ladies trail their performance of Greek drama at Oxford

Eighteen identically dressed, clandestine women wearing red headscarves, red stilettos, sunglasses, and red vanity cases descended on Oxford University this week.

On Tuesday 27 May, the Red Ladies could be spotted on the roof of the New Bodleian Library and the History of Science Museum as well as inside the Ashmolean Museum, the Sheldonian Theatre, and the Radcliffe Camera. They caused much confusion to onlookers who were invited to ‘rendezvous’ with them at the Old Fire Station where they would ‘reveal their true identities’.

The mysterious women are part of on an act called Red Ladies produced by Oxford University’s Onassis Programme for the Performance of Greek Drama. The programme, which is part of the Faculty of Classics, commissions, nurtures and produces contemporary theatre inspired by classical Greek drama.

The Red Ladies, played by the Clod Ensemble, began as an exploration of the Greek tragic chorus and has developed into a large-scale performance, which begins on the streets of a city and leads its audience into an indoor venue.

Helen Eastman, producer of the Onassis Programme, which has been running since 2005, said: ‘We work with shows from around the world that respond to classical drama. The Red Ladies is a brilliant idea based on the Greek chorus as its form, I saw it a few years ago and knew we had to bring it to Oxford. A lot of work responds to the ideas of a particular Greek drama or myth but this responds to the theatrical side.

‘Oxford doesn’t have a huge amount of street drama so it was wondering to bring in a project with a lot of that. Also Red Ladies attracts attention to iconic architecture and seats of power so it was interesting to explore the visual relationship between the Red Ladies and Oxford University.”

Performances of Red Ladies will be given at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, on 30 and 31 May.