Few pics of when I was a Roman reenactor for 10 years here in the UK. As well as being the Signifer for our group, I was the retiarius for our gladiator combats, no choreography as several broken bones and numerous cuts and bruises cam testify for our group.
This was inspired by the thread regarding Samnites a couple of days ago.
I did indeed haha
Why did you kill that man omg
Because that is what the Editor of the games had payed for, he wanted a death and he got one. I make no apologies haha
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!"
Were you in the 2nd Augusta? I saw them at Colchester Roman festival last year. The pressurised blood in the weapons is an awesome effect.
No, we were Deva Victrix up in Chester but we did do a few shows with the 2nd. Great bunch of guys and put a good show on.
Before combat, did you have a ritual meal, sacrifice to gods, salute the Emperor, etc?
We used to put on a full show which included vestal types doing a "Dance of Death", an offering to the gods, even a Noxi fight which included a guy in a realistic bear skin.
I am sorry to read the old ways appear to be dying out. I fear for the Empire.
Even the Vestal "Dance of Death" has faded from my memory. I do recall that the Vestal Virgins had ringside seats at the games, but I don't recall any vestal dancing. My Google searching found nothing.
Can you tell anything about this "Dance of Death?"
When I say "vestals" it was some dancers we used that were dressed in white flowing dresses.
I think we got the idea from our trip to Roma in 2008 for the Natalie di Roma (founders day) parade where we were part of the main march. When we got back to the Circis Maximus, one of the Italian groups had some gladiators and had dancers dressed similarly. I seem to recall someone saying they had seen some written evidence of it but it was 16 years ago now so I can't remember properly.
All we did was use 4 of the fighters and used 4 dancers who gave us a piece of sheer silk that they took away at the end, a visual representation of the soul leaving the body. Here is a clip to give you a better idea https://youtu.be/oVPY-reGYiw?si=PNiU-9dnfqMYF8Jz
Very interesting.
Thank you so much.
The Gladiator sequel we deserved
And more entertaining
For a second I thought these were screen captures from the Gladiator sequel 😜
That looks like a total blast! Was not expecting the arterial spray lol.
Yeah, all part of the show. Really easy to do too. We made up a solution of sugar water, instant coffee granules and red food dye so it was a thick syrup and put it into a little ball inside clingfilm so when you squeezed it hard it popped open. Really dramatic effect and I was on the giving and receiving end of it many a time haha
Thank you. We made a conscious effort to have our own "colours" so we could be easily recognisable. I used gold as a main colour with red and gold ribbons to highlight my movements. We always felt that people at the back of the stands wouldn't be able to see much so the flashes of colours from ribbons etc was all part of the show and just added to the overall visuals.
RIP to buddy
Is that real murder?
Is that a serious question?
In what world would I get to murder someone, have pictures splashed all over social media and me get to post it on Reddit 12 years later?
It's all fake. We had blood bags that we "popped" when we pretended to cut the throat so it looked spectacular. The "deceased" used to come out at the final parade so everyone could see it wasn't real.
I dunno man, that sounds exactly like something a person who murdered another person on camera would say.
Also, that looks super duper fun! I’ve toyed with the idea of doing reenactments as either a Civil War musician with a local band or dressing up as a legionary for a ren fair.
Mate, I had so much fun in my 10 years as a reenactor. We marched on Rome, we marched in Gaul and Germania. Hadrians Wall was a regular haunt for us. I was interviewed live on BBC (the last picture), we used to attend horse racing every year and even Greyhound racing one time which was live on Sky Sports.
Corporate functions at the British Museum and a golf club for "Italian businessmen" as it was described to us haha. We even got to lead the Olympic Torch into Chester when that was on its tour of the UK in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics. And literally hundreds of public events across the UK which was the highlight for me.
The group are still going and have a project in North Wales called "Park in the Past" where they have built a Roman Fort and an Iron age settlement but all the fauna etc is as it would have been 2000 years ago.
As for doing some reenactment yourself, don't think about it, just do it, you'll never regret it.
Oh thank God it look too real for me
You brutally murdered that man!