Cate fell in love with Ancient Greece at the age of 15 when she studied Ancient History at school – the beginning of a youthful enthusiasm which has never waned. She then trained and taught as a secondary school teacher, in English, Drama, Ancient History (her favourite) and Modern History. Seeking more knowledge and qualifications, Cate studied Ancient Greek History, Classical Art History and, of course, Ancient Greek Drama and Theatre, as part of various degrees at various universities. Cate taught Drama at The Australian National University, Canberra, for over two decades and was, for a time, Head of Drama. She has been involved in several productions of Ancient Greek plays, as costume designer, set designer and, mostly, as director. She designed costumes for Aeschylus’ Agamemnon at Newcastle University and for a professional production of Sophocles’ Antigone in Canberra. She has directed, among others, productions of Euripides’ Helen, Alcestis, The Trojan Women and The Bacchae and her own adaptation of Medea for Papermoon Theatre Company, for which she was awarded a Canberra Critic’s Circle Award.
This is Cate’s first full-scale outdoor production (apart from the Celebrate Canberra Concert for the National Capital Authority in 2002) and she is particularly pleased that it is at the Australian National Botanic Gardens beautiful little ‘amphitheatre’ and that it’s Antigone, one of her all-time favourite plays.
