‘The Exagoge’ of Ekeziel, followed by an afterpiece, Rumi’s ‘Moses and the Shepherd’

The Exagoge is a Greek tragedy about the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt, adapted from the Book of Exodus. The author was a cosmopolitan Jew living in Alexandria in the second century BCE, and the surviving excerpts were preserved by a Christian commentator. Most of the performance will be given in Greek, and the style of performance will honour the Greek spirit of chorality. This will be a rare opportunity to see the first known adaptation of biblical text, and glimpse the afterlife of the Greek tragic tradition. The director is David Wiles, who has previously entertained the Cluster with a tenth-century play in Latin, and with Octavia in Renaissance translation. The company comprises six students from diverse disciplines alongside three veterans of medieval community theatre in Iffley. They have been rehearsing in Wolfson on Monday nights through the Hilary term. Since Greek tragedies were traditionally followed by plays about satyrs, half goat half human, they will complete their offering with a play about a goatherd. They balked, alas, at the thought of performing in Persian.

The performance will be followed by a drinks reception in the Buttery (all welcome).