Aeneid: The Musical is thigh-slapping, hearty, old-fashioned nerdy fun. The classics department’s jolly panto is high-brow slapstick; it’s not veering into the sub-terrain of taste to laugh at the silliness of hammy melodrama if you know Strophades from Cumae. As part of the outreach programme, it’s attempting, to bring the Classics to us unenlightened hoards. We have the traditional tales skilfully modernised by writer/director Elizabeth Belcher, complete with Punjabi MC, and Aeneas rolling his eyes knowingly and calling Venus ‘Mum’. William Swales gives us a thoroughly likeable goofy Aenaes who is Life of Brian-esque; with humour often being derived from his bafflement and misunderstanding. The sight of his blue-white twiggy pins and his awkward dance moves are lovably endearing. Nothing here is by accident, though, and his approachability will serve the purpose of the Classical Hand reaching to touch with culture the uneducated many.
Other noteworthy performances are Dr Bob Cowan as an exuberant, ludicrous Anchises and Laith Dilaimi who narrates with a rich timbre which always suggests profundity. With brilliant costume and flawless delivery, this production promises to be polished and professional. Despite the Director being magnanimous and patient trying to explain the plot to your woefully uncultivated critic, there were some jokes at the punch line of which everyone paused expectantly, waiting for my hearty acclaim; I think they would only have caused me rib injury if I were a classicist. If you are a classicist; go and laugh with self satisfaction at the quaintness of it all; for those of us who aren’t, there should be enough slipping on banana skins for us to grasp, but for educated good fun, this is not to be missed
Charlotte Brunsdon
