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Welcome to phase one of the DAT@apgrd project: the development of a database designed to identify the existence and locations of recordings of performances inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman plays and epics. We have begun populating the new database with records of our own audio and audiovisual collections, and those held by our research partners; we will then expand to incorporate data on the recordings held by external archives, repositories, theatre companies, and streaming services.

*Service Disruption: Database Offline

Unfortunately we are currently experiencing technical issues affecting the APGRD search interfaces. As a result, it has been necessary to take the DAT database offline while the IT team carries out essential infrastructure work. We expect to provide an update in September. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work to restore these services. 

If you require urgent access to any of the research databases or have a research-related query, please contact us directly at apgrd@classics.ox.ac.uk

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Digital Ancient Theatre (DAT)

Future development

Alongside the continual addition of entries into the DAT database, the next phase in the project's development will be to develop an enhanced Digital Media Collection at the APGRD. Comprising of digitised versions of our analogue audio-visual collections, collaborative new digital material, and digital donations via the forging of partnerships with external institutions and theatre companies.

The DAT database has been made possible by funding from the University of Oxford's John Fell Fund and the Ars Longa Trust. The original inspiration for the database was brought to us by Professor Rose and has been developed so that it integrates fully with our pre-existing Modern Productions database. This means that as well as identifying and locating an audio or audiovisual recording, we can offer a full range of contextual data about the performances captured in the recordings, allowing researchers to follow pathways of associated information such as: performers, companies, scripts, and locations.

Main image credit: Baco Polaco, a version of the Bacchae set in 1930s Argentina, by Complejo Teatral (Buenos Aires, Argentina), directed by Mauricio Kartun, 2025. Photograph by Carlos Furman.