by Arlene Holmes-Henderson
We are absolutely delighted that Stephen Fry will be the
Honorary President of the Classical Association in 2021-2022. A national
treasure, Stephen is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright,
journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director.
Stephen is well known for his love of the ancient world. His bestselling trilogy of books Mythos, Heroes and Troy retell Greeks myths from theories of the world’s beginnings to the
aftermath of the Trojan War. In 2019, he took these Greek myths on tour in a
sold-out show around the UK via MythosLive: Gods.Heroes.Men.
Born in London, Stephen grew up in Norfolk and gained his
A-Levels at City College, Norwich. He
gained a scholarship to study at Queens' College, Cambridge but taught briefly at Cundall Manor, a preparatory
school in North Yorkshire before taking up his place. Stephen has been a
stalwart support of educators throughout his career: paying tribute to the
world’s teachers during the Global Teacher Prize (2020) and sending a message
of support to teachers in his home county via Radio Norfolk in January
2021. His book on poetic form, The Ode Less Travelled, is widely used in schools and colleges
as a guide to prosody.
As a proudly out
gay man, the award-winning Out There, documenting the lives of lesbian,
bisexual gay and transgender people around the world is part of his thirty year
advocacy of the rights of the LGBT community. Stephen’s most recent television
role in 2021 was Tory MP Arthur Garrison in Russell T. Davies’s award-winning
series for Channel 4, It’s A Sin.
He has been
President of Mind, Britain’s largest mental health charity since 2011, and an honorary
fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists for over ten years.
Stephen has won
many prizes for his performances as an audiobook narrator – of his own works
and most notably as the voice of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Players of
videogames may also recognise his voice: he is the narrator of the first four
Harry Potter games as well as LittleBigPlanet, Fable II and Fable III.
We look forward
to working with Stephen to engage all Classics enthusiasts in communities
around the UK. Via our local branches, Teaching Board and annual conference, we will work together to showcase the
breadth and diversity of ancient world studies while continuing to value and celebrate educators of Classical
subjects at all levels.
Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson is the Classical Association's Outreach Officer
