The Alphington Grammar Bilingual Theatre Group will embark on an adventure not to be forgotten as they fly off to Greece to perform the production Sirens of Civilisations.

This is the sixth trip to Greece for Nikos Zarkadas, head of Greek department at Alphington Grammar and bilingual theatre coordinator who will be travelling with 21 students.

The play Sirens of Civilisations is written by Zarkadas and “is a reflection of the ancient Greek ideologies, the philosophers – Aristotle, Plato”. “In a way the script is a pure reflection of what is happening in today’s society. What ancient civilisations keep telling us is not out of date, we keep witnessing history repeating itself. There are a lot of messages in this play and things that have been happening over the years.” Zarkadas said.

The trip has been a year in the making, with not only the production of the play itself and rehearsals to consider, but also fundraising and contributions from parents, the school and Greek community. A trip like this costs well over $150,000 so a lot of hard work was put in to make it happen.

“This time, we have paid all the expenses. The school has contributed but the parents have helped with fundraising and some big companies have given us donations. It takes a lot of time and energy, rehearsing every week, fundraising, chocolate drives, meeting with parents but it is fun with students and it’s a massive learning process for them,” Zarkadas said.

He said the troupe will be performing all over Greece and visiting the best that Greece has to offer from the mountains of Epirus, the historical richness of Metsovo, to the amazing beaches of Zakynthos and the hustle and bustle of Thessaloniki.

“The trip is a good balance between educational and cultural for the students. We visit museums and experience what the Greek culture has to offer but also experiencing the Greek lifestyle with the food and beaches. It gives the opportunity to students who never get the chance to travel overseas to Greece. “Apart from the Greek students, there are also Anglo-Saxons and, as you know, the school has got more than 32 nationalities and these productions are offered to all the students and it’s performed in both languages, Greek and English.”