When in Rome...

I have a great love for Classics, so when I saw a musical that advertised a collision between Roman civilisation and rock classics of the 80’s and 90’s I had an ominous feeling. However when I got to the venue I found a sold out show with a crowd that was so full of energy and excitement at what was to come that my preconceptions were removed. In this show historical accuracy is slaughtered on the altar for light hearted and easily accessible entertainment. The characters from the Cambridge Latin course are used in a tale of sordid Roman intrigue mixed with hits from the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys. Quintus seems to be a bit different to other Romans as he is shy and doesn’t regard the world as his oyster. He falls for a beautiful slave girl but has to come to terms with the expectations that will stop any fairytale romance for a Roman. First he must drink heavily, womanise against his will, engage in power politics and bear the hypocrisy of then appearing respectable. The naïve man is surrounded by the seditious senators, a pompous princeps, salacious slaves and tight band.My tastes were tickled by jokes such as Ovid descending in furs and chains as a womanising pimp and Julia Augusta being the town bicycle. However there was something for everyone to enjoy. There were hugely over the top moments which oozed tempting cheesiness, like a slave singing ‘I Want To Be Free’. The trumpet harmonies that accompanied the songs felt like they were closing the gap between music divided by 2000 years and produced an overwhelming sound that rocked the large space. The show was almost stolen by the hairy chef Grumio whose natural talent and comedy was a real force. It’s all extremely cheap in comedy and writing but that’s what it sets out to do. The show’s aim is to deliver simple entertainment, and judging by the audience reaction, I can say that it thoroughly succeeded.