What connects revolutionaries, dictators, Bob Dylan and Beyonce?

You may ask: “What’s exciting about a piece of bread 4,000 years old? Or some pots of paint abandoned in the eruption at Pompeii? Why should we be bothered with the distant past anyway? What’s the point?”, and Mary answers!

The life, art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome have something to offer everyone, and the bestselling author of SPQR and Emperor of Rome has made a career of refusing to let the ancient world stay ancient.

In celebration of her latest book Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old, Mary will be appearing in conversation with some very special guest hosts, and invites you to ask your burning questions, because The Classics are best explored through talking.

Talking Classics will be available at each event, and copies will be signed by Mary Beard after the show.

Tickets on sale Friday 3rd July 2026, 11:00AM AEST