14 Aug 2026
Deborah Heath takes a trip back in time to the age of the great Roman dramatists…
It was my absolute pleasure to attend a special one-off event at the Roman Theatre Festival on Sunday. Professor Tim Botswain, academic and trustee of OVO, presented an illuminating hour of entertainment, exploring the nature of Roman drama via some abridged experts of plays and an informative Q&A.
As a dramatist and history-lover, this was a must-attend event for me and the almost full auditorium demonstrated the passion for history in the St Albans area.
In Act I, supported by a cast of four OVO regulars; Alice Croot, Will Kirkham, Emma Wright and David Widdowson, Tim demonstrated the work of Plautus, Terence and Seneca. It was a simply presented historical exploration with minimal props and scenery which felt entirely appropriate. My personal favourite, ‘Adelphoe’ (The Brothers) by Terence explored the idea of opposing parenting styles – liberality and strictness.
The story was very thought-provoking, demonstrating that being domineering and expecting obedience only results in breeding liars.
Another highlight was ‘The Pot of Gold’ by Plautus. Overall, Act I was informative and entertaining with Professor Botswain’s beautiful voice guiding us through every step.
The second half of the evening was a Q&A session, hosted by Mark O’Sullivan in which the audience were able to pose questions to Professor Botswain about the plays themselves and how our Roman Theatre was actually used. I am sure many people were surprised to learn that the theatre was probably a religious and communal meeting place rather than a place to watch plays and had a capacity of approximately 1,800 people!
It was interesting to note that whereas now, the expensive seats are in the raised back area of the auditorium, in Roman times the VIPS sat near the front. There was something magical about sitting there in a historic site in the setting sun, thinking about who would have been there in ancient times, what brought them to theatre, what they did for a living and for fun.
This was a very interesting evening although it did give me flashbacks to the Greek theatre module I did as a drama student and so I am still left feeling that I am going to be tested on what the professor told me! If OVO run a similar evening in the future, the next step might be to make it more immersive with interactive opportunities for the audience to perform some of the scripts. Perhaps using the OVO actors to demonstrate members of the public as well as actors. I look forward to seeing how OVO engage our curiosity for history next!
