Kate Woodman, undergraduate, joins the cast of Ion by Euripides which runs at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge from 14-17 October 2026.
The play, performed in ancient Greek with subtitles, tells the story of mortal woman Creusa’s rape by the god Apollo, her abandonment of their child Ion, and her later quest to conceive a child with her husband.
Kate is a member of the seven-strong chorus who offer a commentary on the play.
She said:
“In Greek tragedies, the chorus never leave the stage and are the audience's way into understanding the plot. We comment every time a big event takes place with a choric ode. We’re always there and always watching the action.”
Ion is directed by Rosalind Parker and Kate says that the emphasis is on making the play as accessible as possible using cues from the chorus.
“In acting, a big thing that people like to work on is choric movement - moving as a chorus. This was a big part of Greek plays, but you don't really get to do that in modern plays.”
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Cambridge’s Greek Play happens once every three years and has been staged since 1882. It is an important event in the Cambridge calendar, directed and designed by Theatre professionals with an all-student cast.
Former cast members include actors James Mason and Tom Hiddleston who appeared in Sophocles’ Electra in 2001.
Kate was keen to take part because of opportunity to learn ancient Greek; the cast take lessons with Classics professors for the preceding Lent term to prepare for their roles.
While she may not have known ancient Greek before she came to Cambridge, Kate is an experienced actress who plays Louise D’Armilly in The Count of Monte Cristo, a TV mini-series directed by Billy August and starring Sam Claflin, currently streaming on U&Drama.
She received her A level results during filming and fellow cast member Blake Ritson, an alumnus of Jesus College, encouraged her to apply to Cambridge.
Kate said:
“I wasn’t going to apply to university so if I hadn’t been in the Count of Monte Cristo, I might not be at Cambridge. The filming turned out to be my gap year!”
She is now beginning the third year of an Education degree.
“It is such a versatile degree and it's super interdisciplinary including a theatre studies paper. This year I get to look at Greek plays and then write my own play.”
Students of Education often go on to work in a variety of roles including policy, politics and the media.
Book tickets for The Cambridge Greek Play. Please note that the play contains themes of rape and violence.
The History of the Cambridge Greek Play
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